Overview
Manchester City hope to maintain their impressive form after the international break when hosting Everton this weekend.
Pep Guardiola's army entered this period with 2 consecutive victories in the Premier League against Burnley and Brentford, helping them rise to fifth place in the rankings.
In fact, City are averaging the highest points per game in the league (2.04 - 53 points after 26 games) in 2025. They are also the team with the most goals (55 goals) and have the same number of wins as Liverpool (16).
The key factor in the Citizens' attacking power is still Erling Haaland, who has scored 9 goals in 7 matches in the Premier League this season. If he continues to score, he will become the third player in history to reach more than 10 goals after the first 8 matches in the Premier League.
Haaland's scoring form remains stable, but Guardiola seems to be adjusting his tactics. City currently have an average of 57.6% possession and have made 541 passes per game in the 2025-2026 season. These are the lowest numbers compared to any team Guardiola has ever led in the domestic league (from Barcelona, Bayern Munich to Man City).
This change was partly due to Rodri having to miss a thigh injury in the win over Brentford. The Spaniard is expected to be absent until the end of the month, and his impact on City is undeniable.
Since the start of the 2021-2022 season, Man City have lost 14 of their 48 Premier League games without Rodri (an average of 1.8 points per game). In contrast, they have lost just eight of their 111 games with him (an average of 2.4 points per game).
Despite the clear change in tactics, Man City still maintained their formidable strength at home. They have won 7/8 of their most recent matches in the Premier League, except for a 0-2 defeat to Tottenham Hotspur in August.
Guardiola's side have won their last two games at the Etihad by a margin of three goals or more. And if they do it again, they will equal their 4-game winning record with the same gap as in May 2024.
Meanwhile, although Everton and David Moyes are often inferior to City, their recent form is showing signs of improvement. The Toffees have won six of their last 10 Premier League games (D2 L2) - equal to the total of their previous 27 wins (D13 L8).
Everton have also won four of their last seven away games in the competition (losing three), having won just three of their previous 26 away games.
However, David Moyes has a poor record when traveling to the Etihad. He has lost all 8 of his most recent away matches in the Premier League against City, when he led Man United (1), Sunderland (1) and West Ham (6). The last time Moyes left the Etihad without a loss was in January 2012, when he was in charge of Everton in his first term.
Head-to-head record
Everton have failed to win in their last 14 Premier League visits to Man City (D6 L9), since a 2-1 win in December 2010 - when David Moyes was in his first spell at the club.
Meanwhile, Man City are maintaining a streak of 16 consecutive unbeaten matches against Everton in the Premier League (won 13, drew 3), since a 0-4 defeat at Goodison Park in January 2017.
More broadly, only Fulham (20), West Brom (19) and West Ham9) are the teams that City are having a longer unbeaten streak in this tournament.
Score prediction: Man City 3-1 Everton
The match between Man City and Everton takes place at 9:00 p.m. on October 18 (Vietnam time).
