Manchester City have been at their brilliant best since a 3-2 humbling at the hands of Norwich City at Carrow Road and will want to oversee Everton and keep Merseyside neighbours Liverpool on their toes. Last season’s domestic treble winners have since won three games in succession in three different competitions on an aggregate score of 14-0.
The Citizens steamrolled their way past Shakhtar Donetsk in the UEFA Champions League and Championship flyers Preston North End in the Carabao Cup 3-0 either side of that 8-0 battering of Watford last weekend.
Now the Pep Guardiola juggernaut will aim to power on against Marco Silva’s Everton, seemingly headed in the other direction.
The Portuguese boss is the current favourite to be sacked next in the Premier League after his side suffered back-to-back defeats to Bournemouth and Sheffield United.
A litany of defensive errors and an inability to defend set-pieces has added to the Toffees’ woes conceding seven in their last three outings.
Silva will be sweating on the fact his side are coming up against the league’s best attack but Everton should be encouraged by Norwich’s heroics and will hope to pull off a shock of their own.
Team news
Pep is known for his rotation and after making nine changes to the side that saw off Preston further changes are expected by reintroducing regular first-team starters.
Centre-back duo John Stones (thigh) and Aymeric Laporte (knee) are still ruled out with the latter to be missing until the new year.
Leroy Sane remains a long-term absentee as he recovers from his own knee injury.
PREDICTED XI: Ederson, Walker, Otamendi, Fernandinho, Mendy, Rodri, Silva, De Bruyne, Sterling, Bernardo, Aguero.
As for Everton, Andre Gomes (rib) and summer signing Jean-Philippe Gbamin (quad) are both sidelined and will continue their rehabilitation this week.
Fabian Delph is expected to start against his former club at the heart of midfield.
PREDICTED XI: Pickford, Coleman, Mina, Keane, Digne, Delph, Schneiderlin, Iwobi, Sigurdsson, Richarlison, Calvert-Lewin.
Head to head
Everton’s 4-0 win against City during Guardiola’s debut season in January 2017 is their only win in 12 previous meetings (D4,L7)
Defeat to Sheffield United ended a run of six consecutive home victories
Sergio Aguero could become just the fourth player to score in eight straight Premier League fixtures and the first to do so in the opening eight games of a season.
Pep has seen the better off his opposite number Silva in all seven competitive fixtures with a 24-3 overall scoreline.