Premier League: Man City aim to bounce back against struggling Everton

Title race rebooted

The Premier League title race is back on again. Manchester City’s 3-2 loss to Tottenham Hotspur, together with Liverpool’s victories over Norwich City and Leeds United, has seen the gap at the summit of the standings cut to three points. Because of their upcoming meeting on April 10, both City and Liverpool have their fate in their own hands.

Liverpool’s participation in the League Cup final this weekend gives Pep Guardiola’s side the chance to re-establish a six-point lead. They will probably take it. City have not lost back-to-back league games since December 2018. They usually react well to defeats, which tend to be rare anyway.

City were caught cold by Tottenham last time out. Their opponents executed their game plan perfectly. But Everton do not have the same quality as Spurs, who relied on a sensational showing from Harry Kane to emerge victorious.

Toffees will give it a good go in front of fans

Everton have the worst away record in the division and will be relying on their form at Goodison Park to stay up. The Toffees are now just two points above the drop zone, although they do have games in hand on most of their relegation rivals.

A raucous atmosphere is guaranteed on Saturday, despite the misgivings harboured by many Evertonians about the way their club is being run. City will dominate possession from the get-go but Everton will be full of hard running early on. At an attractive price of 4, it could be worth a punt on a draw at half-time and an away win at full-time.

We could also see Everton get on the scoresheet. Frank Lampard is keen to see his team get on the front foot after Rafael Benitez’s tendency towards caution. City will ultimately take advantage if Everton are too open, but a proactive mindset should bring the hosts at least one goal – our traders price both teams to score at 1.97.

Man City manager Pep Guardiola will be expecting his team to bounce back from Saturday's defeat by Spurs

Mahrez in fine scoring form of late

Such is the amount of competition within the Manchester City squad that none of the attackers at Guardiola’s disposal are ever guaranteed a start. The likes of Riyad Mahrez, Raheem Sterling, Gabriel Jesus and Jack Grealish have been in and out of the team this term. Recently, Mahrez and Sterling are in their manager’s good books.

It is not hard to see why. Sterling scored a hat-trick in the 4-0 thrashing of Norwich earlier this month. Remarkably, Mahrez has found the back of the net in nine of his last 10 club appearances in all competitions.

The Algerian’s goal in the defeat by Spurs came from the penalty spot. It was redundant in the end, but the ruthlessness with which Mahrez dispatched the spot-kick suggests he will be on duty from 12 yards again on Saturday. That, together with his excellent form more generally, makes him a good choice in the anytime scorer market at 2.02.

Recommended bets

BTTS @ 1.97

HT/FT draw/ City @ 4

Mahrez anytime @ 2.02