Julian Alvarez can take Man City fight to Erling Haaland at Everton
Manchester City head to Everton looking to get back on track in the Premier League.
Pep Guardiola's side made history in Jeddah last week as they were crowned world champions, and also enjoyed a terrific night for their young players in Belgrade earlier in the month. However, their struggles in the Premier League have continued with a collapse at home to Crystal Palace meaning it is only one win in six.
Liverpool's draw with Arsenal during City's absence has ensured no team has sped away in the league table, meaning the champions are not at risk of being left adrift. But the sooner they start winning league games the better as they aim to win an unprecedented fourth title in a row.
As City return to domestic action, here are some of the talking points for the game.
Defence must do better
City haven't been good enough defensively this season. You could argue that's because they haven't been good enough in attack, but the simple matter is that they have only kept one clean sheet in their last 10 games and that was against United.
A strong backline is the key to any title challenge and the Blues need to step up their individual and collective performances to get back to making it hard for teams to score against them. Crystal Palace was the latest example of opponents simply not having to do very much to beat Ederson. Ruben Dias and Kyle Walker are among the players who have been below their best recently, although the responsibility lies with the whole team.
Haaland in Alvarez sights again
When it was put to Guardiola recently that City have conceded a lot of late goals, he suggested the problem was not scoring enough before then to put the game to bed. There is certainly logic to it, and the team have been guilty of not taking their chances whether Erling Haaland has played or not.
There are doubts over Haaland's fitness again going into this game, and it could be an opportunity for Julian Alvarez to change his momentum. Having spent most of this season filling in midfield while Kevin De Bruyne has been injured, Haaland's injury gives the Argentine the chance to refocus on his best position.
Coming on the back of what should be a confidence-boosting two goals against Fluminense in the final of the Club World Cup, some sharpshooting from Alvarez can help out in attack and defence to add some pressure on Haaland when he does return. Guardiola loves his players to be pushing each other for places in the team and a strong Alvarez should help Haaland.
Battle of the damned
We could be set for a first on Wednesday evening if the Premier League anthem gets booed by the whole stadium. City have been making their feelings clear since they were charged in February, while Everton have not taken their 10-point deduction quietly either. It remains to be seen whether their is solidarity between the sets of supporters or some injustice from Everton fans that they have been punished before City, although unity is expected when the strains of the Premier League song starts up before kick-off.
Christmas treat for fans
City have travelled to Villa, Luton, Belgrade and Jeddah this month. Thousands of fans have racked up the miles to follow them and some have even been to all four to watch their team make history. Christmas has been kind in giving the team one of the better away games in Everton, a short trip down the M62 to a traditional ground with a good section for travelling fans. The world champions should get quite the reception.
Source : Manchester Evening news
