ENGLISH PREMIER BETTING PICK - MANCHESTER CITY V EVERTON

English Premier

2010-12-20 - Manchester City vs Everton

A Sports Betting Pick by Auls

Manchester City v Everton
Football : English Premier League
Monday 20 December 2010 - Kickoff 8pm
This game is live on TV

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Manchester City

Manchester City have been given a special chance this weekend thanks to the weather. With the majority of the weekends Premier League football being postponed, City now have the opportunity to top the Premier League on Christmas day with a win here. The club has been under the spotlight of late with Carlos Tevez requesting a transfer from the club and it will be interesting to see how the fans react to the Argentine if he does get the start today.

City are 3rd in the table with 32 points gained this season and find themselves just 2 points behind Manchester United at the top of the tree. Much of City's success in the League has been down to a strong away form and they have not quite found the same formula at home where the onus is on them to attack rather than sit back and wait for counter attacking opportunities. The Citizens are 4-3-1 at the City of Manchester Stadium, scoring 8 goals and conceding 5.

The form displayed by the side has been good in recent weeks and they are unbeaten in 9 games in all competitions. This period has seen the moving up the Premier League table and securing their place in the last 32 in the Europa League. City had won their last 3 games before drawing in Juventus on Thursday night. They are unbeaten in 4 games at home, winning the last 2 but drawing the 2 before that. The side have kept clean sheets in each of their last 4 home games.

Carlos Tevez' future may not be clear at Manchester City but Roberto Mancini has hinted he will play the wantaway striker. Nigel de Jong is definitely out through suspension.

Everton

There are some who may believe that David Moyes has gone as far as he can as manager of Everton, especially on the limited funds he has been forced to deal with ever since he took charge of the club. The Toffees are in an unwanted relegation scrap at the moment and need to pick up points as quickly as possible so they can move back into a position that was more expected this season in the top half of the table.

Everton have been struggling for most of the season but it is still a surprise to see them at the wrong end of the table. The team currently sits in 15th position in the table and they have picked up 18 points so far this season. However, that leaves them just 2 points better off than Wigan in 18th place and 3 better off than Wolves in 19th. Everton are 1-5-2 away from Goodison Park this season, scoring 8 goals and conceding 8.

The team has only lost 2 of their last 12 Premier League games, but it is a lack of wins that has them in this precarious position. Everton have played 7 games in the League since beating Stoke City 1-0 at Goodison Park. They are unbeaten in their last 6 away games in the League, but have drawn 5 of those, including their last 4. David Moyes will instill confidence in his side as they have managed draws at Chelsea and Tottenham in that run of games.

Mikel Arteta is still suspended for one more game and Steven Pienaar is a doubt. John Heitinga is another player who is doubtful but Tony Hibbert may be back in contention after a recent ankle injury.

Head to Head

Everton have won 5 of their last 6 Premier League meetings with Manchester City overall. The Toffees did the double over City last season, winning both games 2-0.

They have won on their last 3 visits to the City of Manchester Stadium and they have kept clean sheets in each of those games.

Prediction

The game looks to have survived the terrible weather affecting the UK, but there is still a dark cloud over Manchester City with the arguments and counter arguments offered by the club and the representatives of Carlos Tevez. The fans tonight are sure to make their feelings clear towards a player that has seemingly made up his mind to leave.

Everton have been playing solid football but they are struggling to convert their chances and also to turn draws into wins. They should really have beaten Wigan at last Saturday and should have more to show from their visit to Sunderland, and it seems the forward line is an area that David Moyes will look to strengthen in the transfer window.

City have been hard to beat for much of the season and I expect that to continue here. However, I think Everton are good enough to cause them problems.

The lack of wins for the Toffees puts me off backing them here, even with their strong recent history at the home of City. The draw does spring to mind as a possible bet, but again the lack of goals for Everton has worried me.

For that reason, I will back Everton on the Asian Handicap. A 1 goal win for City would return half the stake, whereas a draw or Everton win would make for a full payout.

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