Manchester City vs Everton: Premier League Tactical Preview

Football fans worldwide can finally breathe a sigh of relief. After yet another seemingly endless international break, Premier League football is back. Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City, spurred on by their diminishing injury list, takes on David Moyes’s Everton at the Etihad on Saturday in what promises to be more than merely a one-sided affair.

The reason for this is simple: Everton are rejuvenated. A buoyant start to their campaign has been characterised by wins against the likes of Brighton and Crystal Palace, while a dominant second-half display in their 2-1 loss to Liverpool made for a nailbiting finish to the Merseyside Derby. With their renewed form, Everton could prove to be a thorn in the side of City’s league run.

Here’s a detailed tactical preview of what to expect from Manchester City vs Everton.

Predicted Lineup: Manchester City

With Rodri and Khusanov unlikely to be rushed back from injury, this is how I expect Pep to line up his City side tomorrow:

This constitutes a largely unchanged starting eleven from their recent wins, with the likes of O’Reilly and Foden enjoying consistent spells of form and Haaland blasting in goals left, right, and centre. Potential talking points in this predicted lineup largely revolve around City’s choice of a second winger after Doku, with Oscar Bobb and Bernardo Silva both prospective starters over Savinho.

Tactical Analysis: Manchester City

With this assumed starting eleven, City’s tactical options in possession are considerably versatile.

• I expect Foden to adopt a role in the pockets of space behind Haaland, often playing as a second striker and pushing up to act as the pressing trigger off the ball.

• Meanwhile, Reijnders will slide across the central part of midfield, opening up space for Nico O’Reilly to invert into the left central midfield area.

• Nico González will sometimes be observed dropping down in between the two centre backs as the Lavolpiana to aid City’s build-up play.

I believe that these tactical rotations will result in City’s buildup proportion skewing more toward the left than the right, with 6 players in the left half of the pitch and 4 in the right half:

In fact, this disproportionality could also result in Foden drifting to the left to be more involved in phases of play. As a result, Savinho and Nunes could offer wide options on the right to switch play via a long ball. This could prove to be a dangerous sequence for City.

Predicted Lineup: Everton

David Moyes is expected to continue with the same 4-2-3-1 lineup from their 2-1 triumph over Crystal Palace, with one notable exception. Jack Grealish will not be included in Everton’s squad because he is currently on loan from the Cityzens. This means that it is plausible that Iliman Ndiaye starts at left wing, and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall will slot in at CAM following his return from suspension.

Tactical Analysis: Everton

Everton’s play style has evolved drastically from last season. Sean Dyche’s route one football has been replaced by a much more pragmatic and methodical philosophy, with their direct speed dropping to fifth lowest in the league this season—a testament to Moyes’s pivot to build up play rather than counterattacking football. An attempt at modernity is palpable, with Everton’s high press forcing 49 high turnovers so far in the league (fourth highest and exceeding the likes of City, Arsenal, and Liverpool). 

Further, their tactical sequences have transformed to incorporate cutbacks, a strategy where the winger gets to the byline before squaring a grounded pass back across the face of goal. Everton made 26 cutbacks in the entirety of 2024/25; this season, they have already made 15, leading the league in this metric.

However, a large part of this stems from Jack Grealish forming the focal point of their attack. With Grealish absent for the City game, here is their expected average positioning:

What I have highlighted here are Everton’s plausible problem areas. Ndiaye and Dibling both fall into the category of false wingers who are more comfortable cutting into attacking midfield onto their stronger foot while their respective fullbacks overlap on the flanks. However, Mykolenko and O’Brien are both relatively defensive fullbacks who are not adept at performing this role.

Further, we have seen time and again that the most effectual way to threaten City’s defence is to stretch it with wide wingers and utilise pace in behind. Neither Ndiaye nor Dibling offers this. Thus, it may be more prudent for Moyes to look to other options or consider switching Ndiaye and Dibling on the flanks.

The Parent Club Controversy

Jack Grealish has had a flying start to life on Merseyside. Following spells of inconsistency at City that resulted in the left winger slipping down the pecking order, the Englishman has found his mojo at Everton, amassing a goal and four assists in 7 league appearances.

However, to the dismay of Everton fans, Grealish will be ineligible to play against City. Premier League regulations prevent loan players from playing against their parent clubs in an attempt to avoid conflicts of interest. The inconsistency across competitions is appalling. UEFA does not have a problem with loan players playing against their parent clubs, while in the Women’s Super League in England, such a rule does not exist; instead, it is up to the parent club to decide whether to let their player play against them, implying that each such scenario is taken on a case-by-case basis.

With Everton’s burgeoning overdependence on Grealish for chance creation in the final third, he will surely be a sore miss for David Moyes. However, this lies at the heart of a deeper controversy to which football is yet to find a uniform and compelling answer.

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