As two of the oldest clubs in English football, Everton and Manchester City have been at the heartbeat of two major footballing cities since the late-1800s, and their paths have crossed more than most others in the game.
With almost 200 meetings between the Toffees and the Citizens, it is one of English football's most-played fixtures, with both clubs representing the blue half of their respective cities.
Here, Sports Mole takes an in-depth look at the head-to-head record and previous meetings between the two sides.
© Imago
Head-to-head record
Previous meetings: 198
Man City wins: 81
Draws: 49
Everton wins: 68
Among the 198 meetings between Everton and Man City, a few have been in the cup, but every league encounter has come in the top flight, emphasising the illustrious history both clubs have.
The first of those 198 came all the way back in 1899, two days before Christmas, with Everton coming out 2-1 winners.
They would then go on to play each other every season until World War I brought domestic football to a halt, and there was very little to separate the two in the head-to-head record, with Everton leading 13-11 in wins from 28 games.
Following the end of the Great War, the two met again on Christmas Day and Boxing Day in 1919, with regular meetings once again up until World War Two, with still little to separate the two.
Man City are perennial title winners now, but the last one they managed before the Abu Dhabi takeover came in the 1967-68 season, in which they took four points off Everton during that campaign.
The Citizens were in the second tier when Everton won the title in 1984-85, but following their return, the Toffees also took four points off City during their championship-winning season of 1986-87.
Everton were streets ahead of City in terms of major honours before the advent of the Premier League, and that showed when the clubs first met in the new revamped top flight, with the Toffees handing out a 5-2 thrashing at Maine Road on the final day of the 1992-93 season.
When City were relegated in 1996, home and away defeats to Everton contributed to their poor campaign, but on their return in 2000, they avenged those results with a thumping 5-0 win at Maine Road.
Apart from a spell where Everton won four in a row at the Etihad between 2007-08 and 2010-11, it has not been a great place to visit for the club from Merseyside, and they are winless in their last 15 trips down the M62.
Some backs-to-the-wall performances have seen Everton grind out results though, with Man City at the peak of their powers through the mid-2010s and early-2020s.
In the 2016-17 season, Maarten Stekelenburg saved penalties from both Kevin De Bruyne and Sergio Aguero when Everton nearly took all three points, but a late leveller from Nolito meant City did leave with something.
© Imago
The most one-sided Etihad meeting undoubtedly came on New Years' Eve in 2022 though, and City somehow did not win, with Demarai Gray's stunning strike with just one of two shots the visitors managed helping them to an unlikely point.
It is not just at the Etihad though where Everton have struggled against City, because they are winless in 16 games against them since the 4-0 win in Pep Guardiola's debut season in charge, losing 13.
The biggest and most bizarre meeting between the two came on the penultimate weekend of the 2013-14 season, with City travelling to Goodison in the midst of a tense title tussle with Everton's bitter rivals Liverpool.
Everton's hopes of finishing fourth had faded, and many in the ground would have preferred a City win to stop their neighbours from winning a long-awaited title, but Ross Barkley's stunning opener put to bed any thoughts that the hosts were going to lie down.
Edin Dzeko stole the show, scoring two goals to put City 3-1 up, but a late fightback gave the eventual champions a massive scare, with Joe Hart required to make an excellent save to stop the game from ending 3-3.
Cup competitions have also served up some great clashes between the two, such as the two-legged 2015-16 EFL Cup semi-finals, when a very contentious De Bruyne goal helped City to advance to the final, even though replays showed Raheem Sterling had clearly dribbled the ball out of play before squaring for the Belgian to score, leaving Everton incensed and heartbroken.
The most important of all their meetings arguably came in 1933, when Everton beat Man City 3-0 in the FA Cup final, still to this day, the only time the two clubs have met in a showpiece occasion.
Everton again got the better of City 33 years later in the same competition, requiring two replays, after back-to-back 0-0 draws, to see them off on their way to lifting the trophy again that season.
City got their own back in 1969 though, beating Everton 1-0 in the semi-finals, before getting the better of Leicester City in the final to secure their fourth FA Cup crown.
Last 20 meetings
Dec 26, 2024: Man City 1-1 Everton (Premier League)
Feb 10, 2024: Man City 2-0 Everton (Premier League)
Dec 27, 2023: Everton 1-3 Man City (Premier League)
May 14, 2023: Everton 0-3 Man City (Premier League)
Dec 31, 2022: Man City 1-1 Everton (Premier League)
Feb 26, 2022: Everton 0-1 Man City (Premier League)
Nov 21, 2021: Man City 3-0 Everton (Premier League)
May 23, 2021: Man City 5-0 Everton (Premier League)
Mar 20, 2021: Everton 0-2 Man City (FA Cup Quarter-Finals)
Feb 17, 2021: Everton 1-3 Man City (Premier League)
Jan 01, 2020: Man City 2-1 Everton (Premier League)
Sep 28, 2019: Everton 1-3 Man City (Premier League)
Feb 06, 2019: Everton 0-2 Man City (Premier League)
Dec 15, 2018: Man City 3-1 Everton (Premier League)
Mar 31, 2018: Everton 1-3 Man City (Premier League)
Aug 21, 2017: Man City 1-1 Everton (Premier League)
Jan 15, 2017: Everton 4-0 Man City (Premier League)
Oct 15, 2016: Man City 1-1 Everton (Premier League)
Jan 27, 2016: Man City 3-1 Everton (League Cup Semi-Final 2nd Leg)
Jan 13, 2016: Man City 0-0 Everton (Premier League)
Last 10 Premier League meetings
Dec 26, 2024: Man City 1-1 Everton
Feb 10, 2024: Man City 2-0 Everton
Dec 27, 2023: Everton 1-3 Man City
May 14, 2023: Everton 0-3 Man City
Dec 31, 2022: Man City 1-1 Everton
Feb 26, 2022: Everton 0-1 Man City
Nov 21, 2021: Man City 3-0 Everton
May 23, 2021: Man City 5-0 Everton
Feb 17, 2021: Everton 1-3 Man City
Jan 01, 2020: Man City 2-1 Everton
Andrew Delaney
