Everton v Manchester City Tips: Back Sigurdsson to strike again in the shots market

With all the hype around the return of the Champions League this week you may have missed that Everton take on Manchester City at Goodison Park on Wednesday evening. With Pep Guardiola’s side not taking on Borussia Monchengladbach in their round of 16 tie until next week, they have the chance to play their game in hand which they hold over every side down to Everton in the table.

The Toffees put in a poor performance in ther 2-0 home defeat to Fulham at the weekend and will be desperate to pick up points from this game with it being one of two they have in hand over the majority of teams above them. We’ve got three football tips for Wednesday’s meeting on Merseyside from our columnist @AnthonyEadson 

Kevin De Bruyne could well feature in some form for Manchester City as he returns from injury, although an appearance from the bench is the most likely for the Belgian along with Sergio Aguero. Ruben Dias should come back into defence to partner John Stones, while Ilkay Gundogan should return at the weekend after picking up a knock against Spurs.

Dominic Calvert-Lewin will not be fit to face Manchester City on Wednesday evening with Josh King set to continue just behind Richarlison in attack. Michael Keane could well come back into defence as Carlo Ancelotti shuffles his pack amid a busy fixture schedule.

Manchester City Win to Nil - 2.5pts @ 13/10 Betfair

Gylfi Sigurdsson 1+ shot on target - 1.5pts @ 2/1 Paddy Power

Sterling & Rodriguez 1+ shot on target, Richarlison to be carded - 0.25pts @ 25/1

The first selection I’m leading towards on Wednesday evening comes in the form of Manchester City to win to nil. At the time of writing, this is currently best priced at 13/10 with both Betfair and Paddy Power. As I mentioned above, Everton were beaten by Fulham at Goodison Park on Sunday and produced an xG (expected goals) figure of just 0.47. Looking back in their two home league games prior to that with Fulham, Everton generated just 0.77xG in the 2-0 loss to Newcastle and 0.65xG in the 1-1 draw with Leicester.

Carlo Ancelotti will be without Dominic Calvert-Lewin on Wednesday evening. The Toffees talisman has scored 38% of their league goals this season and they lack that clinicalness and aerial threat when he’s not in the side. 

Furthermore, the return of Ruben Dias to the starting line up for the visitors should only bolster their chance of keeping a clean sheet on Merseyside. Ederson, John Stones and Ruben Dias have played 12 games together this season and City have won all 12, keeping clean sheets in 11! With Ruben Dias expected to partner John Stones for this midweek clash, I’m more than happy to have City to win to nil onside at 13/10. 

Slightly related to Everton’s low xG figures from their recent home games, comes my second selection of Gylfi Sigurdsson to have a shot on target. This selection is currently 2/1 with Betfair, while Sky Bet take a much more cautious approach at just 5/6. I expect Manchester City to dominate possession on Wednesday with shots from distance potentially being a way in for the home side.

Gylfi Sigurdsson has been on my radar in the shots on target market frequently this season and he’s actually registered five on target in his last three starts. A potential free-kick taker, Sigurdsson has put in some impressive performances of late and I can see him trying to see him try and test Ederson from range.
 

At 25/1 with Paddy Power, I’ve also opted for both Raheem Sterling and James Rodriguez to have a shot on target, with Richarlison to be carded. 

Raheem Sterling has registered more shots on target than any other Manchester City player in the league this season. The England International averages 1.05 shots on target per 90 minutes this season and I’d be surprised to see him not have at least one on target against Everton.

You may also be surprised to hear that James Rodriguez (0.92) is averaging more shots on target per 90 mins than Richarlison this season. Another who likes to shoot from range, Rodriguez has registered a shot on target in six of his last nine league outings and looks a reasonable proposition to have one against City at 6/5.

I’ve also included one player to be carded in this 25/1 longshot in Richarlison. The Brazilian will most likely lead the line in the absence of Dominic Calvert-Lewin and I can see him getting frustrated at a lack of chances and at how little his side will have the ball. Known for hot-headedness in the past, Richarlison picked up an impressive eight yellow cards in the league in 2019/2020 and it could well be in for his third of this campaign on Wednesday. 

That’s 13/10, 2/1 and 25/1 selections in total. The game can be seen live on Amazon Prime video, kicking off at 8:15pm. Best of look to those following and please always gamble responsibly.