Foden has steadily been building back to the form which secured him the Premier League POTY award back in the 23/24 season. He had an off season last campaign, with just nine goal contributions across his 20 starts for City in the Premier League. Seven of these were goals, coming from an average of 0.81 shots on target per 90.

These are still fair numbers, but Foden should be aiming to register double digits for both goals and assists, especially when playing for a side like Man City.

This term, Foden has had nine shots across his five Premier League appearances (2.29 per 90), with three of these attempts finding the target (0.76 per 90). He took two shots in this fixture last season, while City hit seven shots on target in their win over Everton at Goodison Park last term - in which Foden didn’t feature. 

It’s always notable when he’s not in the side and his absence last season was a big reason as to why Man City failed to kill off games, as they became totally reliant on the goals of Erling Haaland.

Ndiaye has made an excellent start to the season, with four goal contributions across his seven Premier League appearances so far, but what stands out to me here are his foul numbers.

Ndiaye has committed nine fouls across his seven Premier League appearances (1.38 per 90). He’s a player you’d usually associate with winning fouls, which is still a strong part of his game (1.68 per 90), but his aggressive streak when Everton are without the ball should come out here.

Ndiaye is likely to face up against either Savinho or Jeremy Doku, both players that can cause him real problems when he finds himself in a defensive role. That should happen pretty often here with Everton likely to sit in a mid-low block, meaning that Ndiaye will be in constant duels with the opposite winger - as well as the fullback.

Doku is one of the best players in the Premier League when it comes to successful dribbles (4.18 per 90) and winning fouls (2.32 per 90). Savinho is also pretty strong when it comes to winning fouls, with the Brazilian averaging 1.42 fouls won per 90 across his 29 Premier League games.

Everton are going to be without Jack Grealish for this game, which is a massive blow seeing as he’s been their most influential player so far this term, with five goal contributions across his seven appearances. This will naturally make Everton a little more conservative than they usually are, and they'll sit deeper as a result.

Everton could also be facing a bit of a crisis at centre back, with Keane reportedly a doubt for this game and Branthwaite a long term absentee. This could prompt David Moyes to move Jake O’Brien into a more central role and bring in Patterson at right back, or utilise the flexibility of James Garner, who can play in both full back roles, as well as in midfield.

Man City have scored 2+ goals in three of their last five matches, with the exceptions coming in away matches against Brentford and Arsenal. City have scored 2+ goals in three of their four games at the Etihad this season across all competitions, too.

They scored twice against Everton in the most recent clash between the sides, which saw City run out 2-0 winners. Everton have failed to keep a clean sheet in each of their last four matches and have conceded 2+ goals in two of these matches, against Liverpool and Wolves. 

Despite a poor season overall for City last season, they were still an incredibly effective side in front of goal at home. The 73 goals they scored (3.84 per game) was the most of any Premier League side at home last term.

Man City aren’t known for racking up high card counts, but I’m inclined to take them for one or two cards in a game like this. 

Everton have drawn 15 cards from their opponents across their seven Premier League matches this season (2.14 per game). This is due to Everton winning plenty of fouls, with the Toffees winning 11+ fouls in six of their seven matches so far. They have drawn at least one card from the opposition in five of their seven Premier League matches this season, too.

Man City have collected 10 yellow cards across their seven Premier League matches so far this season (1.42 per game). Guardiola’s side have collected at least one card in six of their seven matches so far, with the exception of the Manchester Derby.