Fernandinho amongst five absentees for Blues
Manchester City vs Everton
Competition: F.A. Premier League
Date: 7.45pm, Wednesday 13th January 2016
Venue: Etihad Stadium, Manchester
Referee: Roger East Assistants: S Beck, H Lennard Fourth Official: M Oliver
Odds: City 8/15, Draw 7/2, Everton 5/1
Tickets: Available via mcfc.co.uk
TV: Match of the Day
Manchester City
Manager: Manuel Pellegrini
Squad (from): Caballero, Hart, Wright, Clichy, Demichelis, Humphreys, Kolarov, Otamendi, Sagna, Zabaleta, De Bruyne, Delph, Fernando, Navas, Silva, Sterling, Toure, Aguero, Iheanacho
Injured: Nasri, Kompany, Bony, Mangala, Fernandinho
Doubtful: None
Suspended: None
Form guide: WDWLWL
Everton
Manager: Roberto Martinez
Squad (from): Howard, Robles, Baines, Jagielka, Mori, Stones, Barkley, Barry, Besic, Cleverley, Galloway, Gibson, Lennon, McGeady, Mirallas, Naismith, Osman, Oviedo, Pienaar, Deulofeu, Kone, Lukaku, Naismith
Injured: Coleman, McCarthy, Browning, Hibbert
Doubtful: Cleverley
Suspended: None
Form guide: DLWLDD
City are without five first team players for the visit of Everton, as Manuel Pellegrini's injury problems show no signs of abating. Fernandinho is the latest player to be ruled out, and joins Eliaquim Mangala, Wilfried Bony, Vincent Kompany and Samir Nasri on the sidelines. Fernando and Fabian Delph are vying for a place alongside Yaya Toure in the starting line-up, whilst 17 year old defender Cameron Humphreys may be on the bench.
Everton defeated City last week in the first leg of the Capital One Cup semi-final, but Pellegrini doesn't believe that will have any bearing on tomorrow's game:
“The games are not related. Everton maybe will be related to Crystal Palace as we will have less than 72 hours to recover the players. Those two games are more linked than the other games against Everton.
“Every game is different – we must try to beat Everton tomorrow, then we think about Crystal Palace. We don’t know if there will be the same players, the same performance - so much can change in 15 days.
“Everton has a style of play, they’re an attacking team under Roberto. They have players in a very good moment so we must be very careful with their counter attack. We must try to score more goals and do more damage to their defence but also be a balanced team.
“On a good day with a normal performance, it will be a tough game, but I think we can win.”
City's last home game against Everton ended in a 1-0 victory, with Yaya Toure scoring the only goal from the penalty spot. Overall City have won 67 of the 178 games played against Everton, with 44 draws and 67 defeats.
Prediction: City 2 Everton 1