There’s plenty of buildup to the game across the media’s sports pages this morning – as well as a former City player backing Kevin De Bruyne to win the game’s biggest prizes.
Opinion
TalkSPORT: Kevin De Bruyne: Man City star on course to break Arsenal legend Thierry Henry’s assists record and backed to win Ballon d’Or
Trevor Sinclair says: ““He can absolutely win it [the Ballon d’Or]. The only reason he hasn’t been considered is because there’s something going on with FIFA and Manchester City players.
“None of them made team of the year – even Bernardo Silva despite what he won for City and Portugal.
“He’s putting in match-winning performances, taking the game by the scruff of the neck and winning them by himself.
“When you look at any era with any great team, they’ve always got one great player and for Manchester City that is Kevin De Bruyne.”
Manchester Evening News: Pre-match Talking Points
Tyrone Marshall writes: “City have been plundering the goals at times this season but it’s the form of their brilliant Belgian that has really got everyone talking. Kevin De Bruyne has eight assists in his last seven games and he was pulling the strings throughout the demolition of Watford a week ago.
“De Bruyne is the man making City tick at the moment. Teams know his wicked deliveries from the inside right channel are coming, yet they are proving impossible to defend against.
“The 28-year-old is already an early favourite to win the football of the year crown and he’s a joy to watch at the moment, so soak up every minute of his brilliance.”
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Preview
The Guardian: Everton v City - Match Preview
Mark Tallentire writes: “Marco Silva is feeling the weight of expectation at Everton and his best line of defence may just be the fact that he is not Sam Allardyce – and now comes the first tall order of an already flaky second season since taking over from a hugely unpopular predecessor. City have managed 14 goals in their last three league matches, one of them the hiccup at Norwich. Everton, five league goals this season and firmly wedded to a 4-2-3-1 system which also has its detractors, will hope they too can capitalise on City’s makeshift centre-back pairing. The home side’s formation will be the least of their fans’ worries.”
Opposition News
Evertonfc.com: Silva explains why Everton must be ruthless
Marco Silva says: “We made that strong step [against top-six teams] last season,” he said.
“It is up to do that again.
“We know what type of quality they [City] have – they are one of the best teams in Europe.
“We have to believe in ourselves and in our capacity to play with aggressiveness without the ball and with the ball. When we have the ball, we have to show our quality.
“We have to be more clinical and ruthless in both boxes. That is the main thing in football. If you do that, for sure the results will come again. We are here to get results and you can only do that by scoring goals and not conceding.
“Last season, we had some not so good moments but we reacted so strong and settled everything.
“And after, the confidence grew again and we had a fantastic second half of the season. That is something [getting positive results] we want to do as fast as we can.”
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Stats
Everton are unbeaten in their past five matches against teams who finished in the top six positions in the Premier League in 2018/19.
Manchester City’s tally of 24 goals in the opening six league games is the most by any top-flight team at this stage since Wolves scored 25 in 1955.
City have scored in each of their last 28 Premier League games, a streak bettered only by Arsenal (55 matches between 2001-2002) and Manchester United (36 in 2008).
Sergio Aguero could become just the fourth player to score in eight consecutive Premier League appearances.
UEFA Champions League: Group Stage tickets
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Three game bundles available to previous purchasers from £45 for 18-21s and £52.50 for Adults.
