Manchester City face Everton at the Etihad on Saturday, Oct. 15. Here’s all the info you need to watch.
Two teams more motivated than usual for a win meet Saturday when Manchester City host Everton in a top-of-the-league clash.
After opening the year with ten consecutive victories, City are facing their first questions. One of those questions is whether the team is ready to maintain the pace Pep Guardiola demands. After the Celtic game, Guardiola said his players were gassed, a sentiment Fernandinho echoed, and they looked a step slow in the Tottenham loss. Pep’s response? Eat less. Sleep more. Play better.
Another question facing City of late is their defense. The last two games they gave up five goals. In six of Pep’s seven seasons as manager, his teams surrendered the fewest goals. This year five teams have equalled or bettered City’s goals against, including Everton, and there are questions about the backline coming into this match. John Stones goes up against his former team for the first team; he’s impressed his new fans but was known by Merseysiders (and at times groaned at) for too often trying to play his way out of trouble. His ex-teammates will no doubt look to pressure Stones and City in general, something that’s flummoxed them the last two games. Bacary Sagna is out with a hamstring injury. There’s talk of moving Fernandinho to right back or promoting Pablo Maffeo or Tosin Adarabioyo. Kevin De Bruyne returns for Manchester City.
Romelu Lukaku, Phil Jagielka and Leighton Baines return for the Toffees, who like City opened strong but find themselves searching for their first league win since Middlesbrough in mid-September. It’s quite a range of places Everton, currently two points behind blood rivals Liverpool for the last Champions League slot, could find themselves after this match: a win could launch them into second place, only a point behind City; a loss and Everton could fall as far as eighth.
They’ve already received a boost ahead of the contest, as Guardiola announced the Sergio Aguero/De Bruyne/Raheem Sterling trio will not all play Saturday. The Toffees hardly need any help shutting teams down: along with Spurs, they’re the only team not to concede more than one goal in any game. Their attacking form is promising thanks to the recent return to form of Lukaku, who’s followed an 11-game goalless drought with five goals in his last four league matches. Everton look to put a halt to two unpleasant trends: they’ve lost their last five games at the Etihad and have taken just two points from their last six against City overall. A win would see the team in its best early form and position in decades.
Next: Bob Bradley, Burnley, and weekly awards
The Premier League match between Manchester City and Everton will be broadcast live on NBCSN and NBC Universo. Live streaming is available on NBC Sports App and Sling Blue, which you can access with your cable or satellite subscriptions, either online or through the NBC Sports App, or through a free trial from Sling Blue.
Date: Saturday, October 15
Start time: 10:00 a.m. ET
Location: Manchester, England
Stadium: The Etihad
TV Info: NBCSN, NBC Universo
Live Stream: NBCSports, Sling Blue
Is City’s form of late a mere bump in the road? Or are the wheels starting to come off the Pep bandwagon? Does a promising start to the season dissipate as Everton slip back toward their usual stomping grounds in the upper mid-table? Or is this the game they announce their intention for contention?