Everton will finally get their chance to play against Manchester City this season as this fixture was meant to be played weeks ago.
However, Manchester City were unable to fulfil the fixture due to COVID reasons which left Evertonians frustrated at the fact their side were not awarded the three points.
So, the Premier League rearranged the game a few days before the Merseyside derby which also understandably again irritated fans.
But Everton will probably be grateful they have a game so soon after their abysmal performance against Fulham.
The only thing is that the game Everton need to bounce back in is against the runaway league leaders Manchester City who look unbeatable at the moment and have been in the past 23 games, winning 16 in a row.
Pep Guardiola has taken advantage of every other sides inconsistencies and has decided to run away with the league title with it being difficult to imagine that anyone can now catch up.
Carlo Ancelotti though was in an uplifting mood in his press conference as he said: “I have confidence these next two games will go well for us.”
That is a big shout, but it will fill Everton fans with hope and reason to be excited rather than fearful for the upcoming matches.
It was a sorry performance at home against Fulham and what made it even more disappointing was that the incentive was there before the game for the players, if they won, they would have gone level on points with Liverpool, yet they put in one of their worst spectacles under Ancelotti’s reign.
From the very start it was flat with no spark nor urgency and if Everton play anything like that against Guardiola’s side, they will only be able to dream about getting even a point never mind a win.
A reason for why Everton played so poorly on Sunday was that they were without their star man Dominic Calvert-Lewin meaning they did not have a vocal point in their attack.
Unfortunately, Calvert-Lewin will be missing again for Manchester City which means Josh King could get his full debut.
Ancelotti spoke about King saying: “His fitness level is ok because he trained normally at Bournemouth. He has to adapt to the team tactically but I’m happy with what he’s doing.
“He is working hard and gives us all his quality and belief. For sure he’s going to start in the future.”
We will have to wait and see if he will get that start tomorrow night or if Ancelotti still wants to wait.
There was also some good injury news as Allan is back and is in contention to play.
As well as this James Rodriguez is fine after going down injured against Fulham and Jordan Pickford is back in training, but it is not confirmed if Manchester City will come too early for him.
Pep Guardiola revealed that Sergio Aguero is back but explained that he would not be able to start as the Argentine has been out for so long.
This game was always going to be tough for Everton but maybe they need to come up against one of the big six to show why they are in the fight for the top four this season.
It is another chance to show they are not here just to take part.
A reaction is needed but without their top goal scorer will there be a way past the best defence in the country?
In this funny old season, you would be brave to bet against it.
Written by Elliot Thompson
