As most of us know, every English Premier League Round ends with a Monday matchup and in round 2 this game will be played at Etihad Stadium between the Manchester City and Everton. Both teams were successful in the week 1, recording wins against Brighton & Hove on the road and Stoke City at home.
Perfect record will surely be ruined for one or both of the teams (in case of a draw) and our job is to predict possible outcomes in order to get some money into your pockets. Predicting picks is never easy, especially at the beginning of the season when teams are still not well-coordinated thanks to the arrivals and departures of the players. Still, there is no place for excuses so let’s take a closer look.
Manchester City vs. Everton
Three-Way: 1: Manchester City -278; X: +525 Draw; Everton +1250
Spread -1.5: Manchester City -105; Everton +110
Total +3: Over +104; Under -109
MANCHESTER CITY
The Manchester City team spent 244.30 Million Euros on transfers during this offseason which is an absolute record in England and in Europe if we don’t count Paris SG. This is an indicator that the No.3 spot at the end of the last season in the Premier League table was simply not enough for the appetites of the board and their fans are definitely cheering right now. Still, with soccer transfer market going crazy lately, the question of correlation between the price tag and the quality of a player remains to be uncertain.
There were 23 total arrivals and 21 total departures on the roster of Manchester City during the offseason including the loan agreements. Some of the most notable and expensive acquisitions were the Left-Back Benjamin Mendy who came from AS Monaco (57.50 Mill. Euros), right-back Kyle Walker from Tottenham (51.50 Mill. Euros), Right wing Bernardo Silva from AS Monaco (50.00 Mill. Euros), goalie Ederson from Benfica (40.00 Mill. Euros), another Right-Back Danilo from Real Madrid (30.00 Mill. Euros) and the central midfielder Douglas Luiz from Brazilian squad Vasco da Gama (12.00 Mill. Euros).
On the other side, Centre-Forward Kelechi Iheanacho was sold to Leicester for a fee worth 27.70 Million Euros while another striker, Enes Unal went to Villareal CF for 14.00 Million Euros. Other notable departures were central midfielder Aaron Mooy who signed with newcomers in the English Premier League Huddersfield Town (9.10 Mill. Euros), winger Nolito who signed with Sevilla FC (9.00 Mill. Euros), defensive midfielder Fernando who signed for Galatasaray (5.25 Mill. Euros), central midfielder Olivier Ntcham who signed with Celtic (5.00 Mill. Euros) and Aleksandar Kolarov who went to Italy and will play for AS Roma this season (5.00 Mill. Euros). English national goalkeeper was sent on another one-year loan deal, this time to West Ham United.
It’s uncertain how these big roster changes will impact the squad but we’ll assume that head coach Pep Guardiola knows what he’s doing. Nevertheless, Manchester City is one of the pretenders to the crown in English soccer this season and finishing among top four teams is almost a certainty.
Samir Nasri (neck) is listed as a major doubt for Monday and he will be out until at least August 20th. A newcomer, Benjamin Mendy (thigh) is also injured and will not be available for week 2 with the date of return set on August 26th. Ilkay Gundogan (ACL knee) is set to be back in early September.
EVERTON
The Toffees are already playing on two fronts this early in the season and with a great success too. They defeated Stoke City in the round 1 last weekend with a goal by Wayne Rooney who came back to his home club after spending 11 years with Manchester United. Also, they managed to defeat Hajduk Split on Thursday as part of the UEFA Europa League third qualifying round first leg at Goodison Park (2:0) and it looks like they have the upper hand in the duel whose winner will participate in the group stage of the aforementioned competition.
The team was also very active during the offseason on the transfer market. They sold their top striker Romelu Lukaku to the Red Devils for 84.70 Million Euros thus providing the money for a couple of very solid additions, including attacking midfielder Gylfi Sigurdsson who came from Swansea City for a fee worth 49.40 Million Euros. Besides Sigurdsson, Centre-back Michael Keane from Burnley (28.50 Mill. Euros), goalie Jordan Pickford from Sunderland (28.50 Mill. Euros) and midfielder Davy Klaassen from AFC Ajax (27.00 Mill. Euros) strengthened the squad. Also, two young prospects left winger Henry Onyekuru from KAS Eupen (8.00 Mill. Euros) and Centre-Forward Sandro Ramirez from Malaga CF (6.00 Mill. Euros) was signed. Defender Cuco Martina and Wayne Rooney signed with the team after their contracts with former clubs expired.
Besides Lukaku, they sold winger Gerard Deulofeu to FC Barcelona (12.00 Mill. Euros) and midfielder Tom Cleverly to Watford (9.30 Mill. Euros). Veteran defensive midfielder Gareth Barry signed with West Brom for a fee worth 1.10 Million Euros while Ivory Coast striker Arouna Kone left the team on a free transfer basis and signed with Turkish side Sivasspor.
Ross Barkley (hamstring), James McCarthy (knee), Ramiro Funes Mori (knee), Seamus Coleman (broken leg) and Yannick Bolasie (ACL knee) are all out for Monday while Sandro Ramirez (heel) is listed as a slight doubt.
Manchester City vs. Everton – Match Prediction
This will be one of the most exciting matchups of the Round 2 along with the one at the White Hart Lane Stadium between Tottenham and Chelsea, and above everything else, we should see some quality soccer performance. Both teams like to play for an extra goal scored and with the offensive lines on both teams, the fans should witness plenty of action on both sides.
Manchester City will want to prove to their fans that the new signings are worth the money, which is why I believe the Citizens will not hesitate to attack at full strength. On the other side, despite the fact that Everton will have the return fixture of the Europa League Playoff round to worry about, I still think that they will send enough firepower onto the pitch that could create some damage for the Citizens. Therefore, expect a high-scoring game with the possibility of both teams scoring.
My pick: Over 3 goals (+104)
Additional Pick: Both teams to score YES (+110)
