Manchester City must beat Everton on Boxing Day and end their dire form considering they face a relatively unthreatening opponent, Steven McInerney of Esteemed Kompany has told Sports Mole.
The Citizens were beaten 2-1 by Aston Villa on Saturday afternoon, losing for the ninth time in their last 12 matches in all competitions.
Pep Guardiola's side are in seventh place with 27 points and are already 12 points behind first-placed Liverpool, who have also played a game less.
However, McInerney believes that the champions can at least avoid another defeat on Boxing Day against Sean Dyche's Everton, but must still win, telling Sports Mole:"It feels like a must win, because this is the one everyone's looking at.
"Everton at home, not in great form. A chronic slide into nothing right now for City, but this Everton game is a big game, because we have to win at some point.
"I think City will get some points here. Everton - I don't think they necessarily have the tools to trouble City, and I think [City will] play the first half against Everton like they did against Villa, which wasn't impressive, but it was functional."
Villa produced six shots and created three big chances against City in the first half last weekend, but it is important to point out that two of these big chances came in the first three minutes, and the stats are not necessarily reflective of how the 45 minutes went as a whole.
Everton: A lack of threat
Everton have held Arsenal and Chelsea to 0-0 draws in their two most recent outings, and while the results are positive for a team fighting to stay in the Premier League, the Toffees never rarely created opportunities in the final third.
In fact, Dyche's side produced just two shots against Arsenal, and registered just two attempts from inside the penalty area against Chelsea.
Given Everton often surrender possession and sit in a deep block against the league's top teams, McInerney does not think the champions will struggle defensively, telling Sports Mole: "City have been struggling against strong, technical, organised sides, and Everton [have] been stubborn and defensive, but they don't have a strong threat going forward.
"Harrison's a good winger, of course, but Calvert-Lewin isn't in great form, and it's a functional midfield for Everton. It's definitely going to outrun City, but a lot of sides recently have had a lot of really good wingers against City, and they've been giving us a lot of trouble out wide.
"I think Everton will sit back and I think it'll play into City's hands. I suspect this will be at minimum a draw for Man City, because I don't think [Everton] have the quality to hurt City."
The Toffees have only scored 14 goals in their 16 Premier League games, with only last-placed Southampton having scored fewer this season.
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How can City hurt Everton?
Erling Haaland looked an isolated figure up front against Aston Villa, producing just one shot and registering 18 touches of the ball, the fewest of any player to have started the game.
While there has been increasing scrutiny on the striker given he has scored just three goals in his last 12 Premier League games, City have not exactly provided the Norwegian with consistent support, with the team having only created the joint ninth most big chances of the 20 clubs in the top flight.
McInerney told Sports Mole that the return of Kevin De Bruyne to the starting lineup could prove crucial against Everton's low block, saying: "It's not Villa. United, despite their form, have quality going forward - they can hurt City - and you see that with Brighton and Bournemouth.
"I don't think Everton are in the same category as the teams that have been giving us trouble recently. They're a little bit different in how they play and they will sit back and let City have the ball.
"The only thing is, I don't really trust City to create many chances at the moment. I'm sure De Bruyne will play, because he didn't play [against Aston Villa], so that will help. All it takes is one De Bruyne cross to pick out Haaland."
De Bruyne has only started seven times in the Premier League this season, but considering he has still managed to produce two goals and two assists in his 10 top-flight appearances, there is every chance that he could add to his tallies should he feature against Everton on Thursday.
Lewis Nolan
