Key events
37 min: Nunes drives down the right and wins City a corner … Silva whips it into the mixer and Pickford slaps it away as if he’s being attacked by a bee.
34 min: Tarkowski and Khusanov square up before City venture forward … but Doku has a shot blocked as Everton form a solid wall.
32 min: City have gone quiet going forward … and here comes Röhl down the right for Everton, in space. He plays across goal, with Beto arriving for the tap-in … but Donnarumma gets a hand to deflect it. The biggest chance we’ve had so far.
31 min: Ndiaye wiggles away on the left for Everton but he doesn’t have much support as City shirts surround him.
30 min: Khusanov is down by the halfway line, caught by Beto.
28 min: Bernardo Silva dribbles through midfield before Khusanov launches a shot from a different postcode. The ball flies all the way back to Manchester.
26 min: O’Brien sends in a long throw for Everton, but O’Reilly heads away at the near post.
25 min: A poor touch by González gives Everton an opening … Dewsbury-Hall launches from range and a block wins the hosts a corner.
24 min: Beto is penalised as he looks to get on the end of a long punt from the back.
23 min: Everton continue to lose possession far too easily.
21 min: Doku jinks away on the left and delivers a lofted ball from the byline … Semenyo can’t keep his volley down as it flies high over Pickford.
19 min: Semenyo finds a galloping Nunes inside the area, in comes the cross, but Mykolenko delivers a sliding interception.
18 min: Doku wiggles away and finds O’Reilly in the area again before Cherki tests Pickford. Semenyo then plays a delicious ball across goal … but there’s no one there to apply the finishing touch. City are all over Everton.
16 min: O’Reilly ventures into the area again, pulls the ball back, but the sliding Garner is there to put off Haaland.
15 min: Semenyo shows impressive strength to keep the ball by the halfway line. O’Reilly plays a low ball into the area but not to Haaland.
13 min: Haaland picks up the ball inside the Everton area but is crowded out by blue shirts.
12 min: Bernardo Silva whips in twice towards the near post but Everton handle the threat well.
11 min: Nunes’ low ball across goal is intercepted but City have a corner …
10 min: Röhl is putting in the hard yards trying to keep up with Doku over on City’s left.
9 min: As you’d expect, City are wheeling it around, with Everton waiting to attack on the break.
7 min: Corner to City, with Cherki playing it short … he eventually launches into the area but Guéhi can’t direct his header goalwards. Cherki closes the scene with a shot over the bar from outside the area.
5 min: González slips inside his own half and Dewsbury-Hall takes over … but Everton fail to take advantage.
4 min: City take the free-kick short and fail to trouble Everton before Dewsbury-Hall and Cherki clash by the touchline.
3 min: Doku tries to skip down the wing and is brought down by Röhl. Free-kick to Manchester City.
2 min: City dominate the ball … until Ndiaye tries to drive down the left wing.
1 min: Guéhi gets a good look at the ball as City roll it around at the back. Khusanov narrowly escapes Beto’s press.
Peeeeep!
Everton get us underway at the Hill Dickinson. Let’s play!
Phil Grey writes in:
I keep on hearing that every game is a final now, but surely this isn’t even a quarter-final because there are 4 more games after this one.
Let’s call it a last-32 clash.
A reminder that Erling Haaland leads by two goals. He’s already won the golden boot twice – another would take him level with Alan Shearer and Harry Kane.
Over to another title race:
Words from Pep Guardiola but also some strong criticism of Tyler Dibling by David Moyes.
Manchester City make eight changes to the XI that started against Southampton in the FA Cup – the big-hitters are back. Matheus Nunes, Nico González and Rayan Cherki keep their places. Beto, Tim Iroegbunam and Merlin Röhl make their way into the Everton side.
The teams
Everton: Pickford, O’Brien, Tarkowski, Keane, Mykolenko, Iroegbunam, Garner, Dewsbury-Hall, Röhl, Ndiaye, Beto
Subs: Travers, Patterson, McNeil, Barry, George, Dibling, Coleman, Alcaraz, Armstrong
Manchester City: Donnarumma, Matheus Nunes, Khusanov, Guéhi, O’Reilly, González, Silva, Semenyo, Cherki, Doku, Haaland
Subs: Trafford, Reijnders, Stones, Aké, Marmoush, Kovacic, Aït-Nouri, Savinho, Foden
Preamble
It’s Manchester City’s turn. They’re unbeaten in 11 consecutive league games, another treble in view for Pep Guardiola and co. They’ve not lost to Everton since January 2017, when Ademola Lookman completed a 4-0 rout at Goodison Park in Guardiola’s first season. David Moyes’ team have lost their last two, stung by injury-time winners against Liverpool and West Ham.
Yet Arsenal have responded to that defeat at the Etihad with back-to-back victories, forming a six-point lead, applying some serious scoreboard pressure. Even a draw feels fatal at the moment. Let’s see what the Hill Dickinson has for us. Kick-off’s at 8pm BST.
