Manchester City have won 12 and drawn two of their last 14 encounters with Everton, running up an aggregate score of 35-8 and understandably, that record has been reflected in the markets, with prices weighted heavily in the Cityzens’ favour.

The Toffees are in the midst of a six-match winless slump in the Premier League and their chances of reversing their fortunes at the Etihad are incredibly slim.

Unfortunately for Everton – and the rest of the division – City’s squad is back up to full strength with Erling Haaland, Kevin De Bruyne and, former Evertonian, John Stones back in situ for the run in.

The champions’ impressive 3-1 comeback win at Brentford on Monday was their ninth victory on the spin in all competitions and they should be able to take command from the first whistle against an Everton outfit on the slide.

That makes backing City in the half time result market an interesting prospect on Saturday. Remarkably, City have held an advantage at the interval in 100% of their ten Premier League home games to date this term and they are favoured to get their noses in front at the break again here.

Backing over 2.5 goals to hit the net for the 11th time in 13 competitive City matches also appeals. Pep Guardiola’s free-scoring side won 3-1 at Everton in December and they have accumulated an xG of at least 2 in each of their last five league assignments.

The Cityzens’ Premier League fixtures have been averaging 3.59 goals per 90 minutes overall and we expect that figure to be maintained, especially with Kevin De Bruyne and Erling Haaland reunited and back working in tandem.

Phil Foden was at his scintillating best on Monday evening in City’s triumph at Brentford, netting three times from four attempts on target against the Bees. The silky 23-year-old should be brimming with confidence following his hat-trick and he can test England team-mate Jordan Pickford with at least one effort on Saturday.

Foden has managed at least one shot on target in six of his last seven appearances, though club-mate Julian Alvarez has been faring even better in that department, landing attempts on target in each of his last eight run-outs for the Sky Blues.

In his latest sitting at Brentford, Alvarez amassed a whopping five shots on target and that was the fifth time in seven fixtures where the 24-year-old was accurate with two or more efforts.

With City likely to dominate just as convincingly against Everton, Alvarez is worth backing to aim two accurate strikes at the Toffees’ goal, though Erling Haaland is the fancied choice to find the net in the anytime stakes.

The Norwegian showed signs of ring rust on his return to the starting XI on Monday, however, he scored home and away against Everton last season and he should have opportunities to refine his touch on Saturday.

Manchester City have been winning corners at a rapid rate this season, which is no surprise given the territorial and possessional dominance they’ve enjoyed in the vast majority of their Premier League fixtures.

The Cityzens have been earning 7.10 corners per home game and 7.32 of them per top tier contest overall, with the latter being the division’s second-highest tally behind Arsenal.

In December, City posted a 72.3% possession figure and won eight corners to Everton’s four at Goodison Park and they are expected to hold sway in both departments again in Saturday’s rematch.

A barrier of over 6.5 team corners should be a manageable hurdle to overcome for City, who won 13 corners at Brentford on Monday evening, though little else appeals here.

City have been given a -5.0 corner handicap to beat by the market makers, which looks too risky a manoeuvre to make, even if odds for that outcome are close to evens.

Man City set the standards in the Premier League for the amount of possession controlled per game, and their dominance of the ball tends to keep their fouls per fixture figures and card count low.

Indeed, only Arsenal have collected fewer cards than City in 2023/24 while the Cityzens have been fouling less often per game (8.40) than any other side in the top-flight.

In contrast, Everton rarely enjoy a smooth ride in any of their fixtures and were forced to fight tooth and nail for every inch, the relegation contenders have picked up 50 cards in 23 matches and committed the fourth-most fouls per 90 (12.5) in the division.

December’s meeting between Everton and City was in keeping with those trends and the Toffees committed 13 fouls to their opponent’s five and collected four cards to City’s two. Sean Dyche’s hard-working troops could be a smart pick-up to tackle their way to over 1.5 cards territory again on Saturday.

Physically imposing midfielder Amadou Onana gave away a game-high three free kicks on that occasion, and if he shakes off a minor ailment to feature in the return fixture, the Belgian could be a snip at evens to commit at least two fouls again.

James Garner, meanwhile, is another midfielder certain to be sticking his foot in this weekend. The 22-year-old, who averages 2.7 tackles per game, has been pulled up for an indiscretion in 11 of his last 15 appearances for Everton and he should be keen to get stuck in again having come up through the ranks at Man United.