It’s the forward’s first start since the Manchester Derby a fortnight ago.
Kyle Walker, Ruben Dias, Ilkay Gundogan, Phil Foden and Bernardo Silva keep their place after Tuesday’s 2-0 win over Borussia Monchengladbach that saw us progress to the Champions League quarter-finals.
In come Zack Steffen, Aymeric Laporte, Oleksandr Zinchenko, Fernandinho, Gabriel Jesus and Sterling, while Ederson, John Stones, Joao Cancelo, Rodrigo, Riyad Mahrez and Kevin De Bruyne make way.
It’s the first FA Cup game between these two sides for 40 years, with our last encounter in the competition a 3-1 win for City en route to the 1981 final.
Teams
Everton: Virginia, Coleman, Godfrey, Holgate, Mina, Digne, Allan, Gomes, Calvert-Lewin, Sigurdsson, Richarlison
Subs: Leban, Tyrer, Broadhead, Davies, Iwobi, John, Keane, Nkounkou, Onyango
City: Steffen, Walker, Dias, Laporte, Zinchenko, Fernandinho, Gundogan, Bernardo, Foden, Sterling, Jesus.
Subs: Ederson, Stones, Aguero, Rodrigo, De Bruyne, Torres, Mendy, Mahrez, Cancelo
City tactics
It’s 4-3-3 for City today as we look to reach the semi-final stage of the third-successive season.
Laporte comes in to partner Dias at centre-back, ahead of Steffen, who play his 10th game for the Club. Walker and Zinchenko will look to get forward and extra bodies in attack.
Fernandinho will sit deep in the holding role, allowing Gundogan and Bernardo to push on ahead of him.
And our front three has plenty of goalscoring quality, with Foden and Sterling playing in support of central striker Jesus.
City always play on the front foot and look to play football that’s both ruthless and beautiful to watch – but our recent run of form, which has seen us win 24 of our last 25 matches, has been as much down to relentless hard work as it has attacking brilliance.
We’ll need to display all that same selflessness and solidarity to get through this one and reach the semi-final stage. This Everton side, led by Carlo Ancelotti, possess plenty of match-winning quality.
Guardiola’s pre-match thoughts
“It is a final tomorrow, away,” Guardiola said. “The quality of their players is there, no doubt about it.
“But it is another incredible opportunity in a competition. It is the last game before the international break.
“Hopefully we can finish well and when we come back the important part of the season starts.”
FA Cup quarter-final news
Southampton are the first team through to the semi-finals. They beat Bournemouth earlier today.
And tomorrow, Chelsea host Sheffield United at 13:30, before Leicester take on Manchester United at 17:00.
Match stats
- This is the first FA Cup meeting between Everton and Man City since the 1980-81 quarter-final, with the Citizens winning 3-1 in a replay en route to the final.
- Manchester City have won each of their last six meetings with Everton – all coming in the Premier League – their best ever winning run against the Toffees.
- Everton last reached the FA Cup semi-final in the 2015-16 campaign. The Toffees have lost four of their last five FA Cup games against fellow Premier League opponents, though did eliminate Spurs in the last round.
- Manchester City are looking to reach the FA Cup semi-final in three consecutive seasons for the first time since doing so between 1931-32 and 1933-34.
- Everton have won their last four FA Cup home games, last winning five in a row at Goodison Park between January 1999 and January 2000.
- Manchester City have won 10 of their last 12 FA Cup away games, drawing with Huddersfield (February 2017) and losing at Wigan (February 2018) in the others.
- Everton’s Richarlison has scored three goals in his two FA Cup appearances this season, having scored just once in his previous five games in the competition.
- Gabriel Jesus has been involved in 13 goals in his 14 appearances in the FA Cup (9 goals, 4 assists). However, the quarter-final is the only round of the competition the Brazilian has played in but not scored.
