Despite having bigger European fish to fry, Man City cannot allow themselves to be distracted from their domestic duties as they seek a fifth top-flight away win in succession. The champions boast a five-game winning streak at Goodison Park since being stunned 4-0 in January 2017. Out of the mere four points that Man City have dropped at home this season, two of them came against Everton on New Year's Eve - being held to a 1-1 draw by the Toffees.
Having only failed to make the net ripple in two of their last 10 contests, Everton will enter the gameweek hovering just above danger in 17th place before the first ball is kicked. The Toffees have just one clean sheet to show from their last eight in the Premier League and have gone winless in three successive home matches.
However, the individual excellence in Pep Guardiola's ranks shone through in their last match against Real Madrid, as Kevin De Bruyne drilled home a sizzling low shot to restore parity and allow the Premier League champions to travel back to the Etihad satisfied with their night's work ahead of Wednesday's winner-takes-all second leg.
INJURIES & SUSPENSIONS
Following Everton's impressive victory over Brighton at the Amex, manager Sean Dyche has confirmed that there are no new injury concerns for his side. Additionally, it has been reported that Seamus Coleman's injury is not as serious as initially thought and is not the career-ending ACL problem that was feared.However, Coleman will still miss the rest of the season, joining the likes of Andros Townsend, Dele Alli, Ben Godfrey, and Ruben Vinagre in the treatment room.
Despite the availability of Amadou Onana, who could challenge James Garner for a place in midfield, Dyche is likely to stick with the same starting XI that performed so well on Monday. Meanwhile, Alex Iwobi has the chance to set a new Premier League record for Nigerian players by securing his eighth assist of the season.
As for Manchester City, manager Pep Guardiola opted not to make any substitutions in their Champions League match against Real Madrid, with all eleven starters coming through unscathed. However, Nathan Ake was absent from the trip due to a thigh problem picked up in the previous match against Leeds. While Guardiola reports that Ake is feeling better, it is still unclear how long he will be sidelined for, and he is unlikely to be risked for the match against Everton.
Guardiola is expected to make a number of changes to his starting XI, with the likes of Phil Foden, Riyad Mahrez, Julian Alvarez, Aymeric Laporte, and Rico Lewis all in contention, and fringe players such as Kalvin Phillips and Sergio Gomez could also feature.
POSSIBLE LINE-UPS
Everton possible starting lineup:Pickford; Patterson, Tarkowski, Mina, Mykolenko; Iwobi, Garner, Gueye, Doucoure, McNeil; Calvert-Lewin
Manchester City possible starting lineup:
Ederson; Akanji, Dias, Laporte; Lewis, Rodri; Mahrez, Alvarez, Foden, Grealish; Haaland
EXPERT PREDICTION
Everton 2-3 Manchester CityGiven the possibility of Pep Guardiola rotating his starting lineup, Everton, who are currently in great form, have the potential to make this match much more competitive than it may appear at first glance, especially considering the Burnley team's consistent scoring ability.
Additionally, Everton can draw on their positive experience from their previous draw with Manchester City in December. However, Guardiola has a strong squad at his disposal, and with their title hopes still on the line, they should manage to secure a hard-fought victory over Everton to maintain their lead over Arsenal.
