Everton travel to Manchester City in the Capital One Cup on Wednesday hoping to hold on to their slender first-leg advantage and move a step closer to securing a first trophy since 1995.

Roberto Martinez's side head to the Etihad Stadium with a 2-1 lead from the first-leg, knowing that a win or a draw will see them reach the League Cup final for the first time since 1984, when they lost to Liverpool.

Can Everton finish the job off?

Despite winning just one of their last 10 Premier League games, there are reasons for Everton supporters to be optimistic.

Everton will take confidence in the fact that they held Manchester City to a goalless draw at the Etihad in the Premier League earlier this month - a repeat result on Wednesday and Everton will be planning a trip to Wembley.

The sharing of the spoils was largely down to the performance of Tim Howard, and Everton will need to show that defensive resilience and danger on the counter attack when the two sides meet again on Wednesday.

Much may have been said about the Toffees' home form, but the goalless draw at the Eithad maintained their strong away form. Martinez's side have lost just once away from home in all competitions this season and they will be hopeful of maintaining that record on Wednesday evening.

Manchester City have only once overturned a semi-final first-leg deficit to reach the final, when they beat Middlesbrough 4-0 in 1976, after losing the first-leg 1-0.

This is relatively new territory for Everton, as it is only the second time in five League Cup semi-final appearances in which the Toffees have held a lead going into the second-leg - the other being when they beat Aston Villa in the first-leg in 1984, before progressing to the final.

Muhamed Besic and Gareth Barry battle with David Silva for the ball in the first-leg. | Image: Sky Sports
Muhamed Besic and Gareth Barry battle with David Silva for the ball in the first-leg. | Image: Sky Sports

Pressure mounting on Martinez

Wednesday's match against Manchester City has not only been touted as the biggest game of Everton's season, but arguably the most important fixture since Martinez was appointed manager in June 2013.

Everton's 2-1 disappointing home defeat to Swansea City at the weekend means the side are 12th in the table having recorded just one win in their last 10 games and only six wins from 23 games this season.

Boos echoed around Goodison Park at full-time and there was a general feeling of unrest within the ground. There is no doubting that Everton should be doing better than they are doing this season, especially with the talent their squad possesses. However, a trip to Wembley or maybe even a first trophy since 1995 will certainly give the club a huge lift and ease some of the mounting pressure on the manager.

Martinez and Everton have to get the balance between attack and defence right on Wednesday, which is something that they haven't always achieved this season.

Only three teams (Manchester City, Leicester City and Tottenham Hotspur) have scored more league goals than Everton's 40 this season. However, it is at the other end of the pitch where the main problems lie. Only the bottom five have conceded more than their 34 in 23 matches this season, and their defence will once again be tested on Wednesday night.

Roberto Martinez and Everton need something to show for their obvious potential. | Image: Adam Davy / PA
Roberto Martinez and Everton need something to show for their obvious potential. | Image: Adam Davy / PA

The opposition

Manchester City are still competing on four fronts, and although the League Cup might not mean as much to them as it does to Martinez's men, Manuel Pellegrini will be aware that winning the cup could act as a catalyst for his side to push on in other competitions.

City go into the tie on the back of a 2-2 draw at West Ham United, a result which saw them lose ground in the title race, but they will be eager to bounce back against Everton on Wednesday in front of their own supporters.

It is in front of their own supporters where they have been at their best too. City have won nine of their 12 home league games this season, scoring 33 goals.

Sergio Agüero is back and the 27-year-old has not lost his clinical edge or troublesome pace, scoring four goals in his last two games. The Argentine is someone that Everton are going to have to keep quiet if they are going to secure their place in the final.

Team news

Phil Jagielka is set to return to the Everton team after the Blues captain was rested against Swansea on Sunday, while Joel Robles will continue in goal as he has done for all cup fixtures this season.

Everton will be without both Kevin Mirallas and Muhamed Besic, who were both forced off in the first-half on Sunday with tendon and hamstring injuries respectively.

Seamus Coleman could make his first start in over three weeks and Martinez revealed that James McCarthy will play some part after overcoming the hip problem that has restricted him to just 26 minutes of action in the last two months.

For City, Pellegrini has said that Willy Caballero will start in goal, while Eliaquim Mangala, Vincent Kompany, Aleksandar Kolarov, Wilifried Bony and Samir Nasri remain sidelined.

VAVEL Logo
About the author
Adam Bailey
Everton editor, who also covers cycling and athletics.