Everton face league leaders Manchester City at Goodison Park on Saturday as Carlo Ancelotti’s men look to end City’s quadruple hopes by knocking them out of the FA Cup.
The Toffees made it through the quarter-finals with a thrilling 5-4 win at home to Tottenham in round five.
However, Everton’s run of form heading into the match is not the best.
They have suffered back-to-back defeats to Chelsea and Burnley as well as four out of six home losses.
One of the recent home defeats was to City, in a 3-1 loss at Goodison Park, and Ancelotti was full of praise for Pep Guardiola’s men after the game.
Man City will be feeling confident on Saturday having won 13 of their previous 14 FA Cup matches.
Their solid defence has been a big talking point this season, conceding just 21 goals this term, the best in the division.
Pep’s men are unbeaten in their last 16 away encounters across all competitions and have only conceded in eight of them.
Manager comments
The Everton boss has been criticised recently for changing formations and tactics too often this season and has altered his starting XI for the last 25 consecutive Premier League games.
The Italian manager defended himself by saying:
“My thought is I don’t want to have a team that only has one identity.
“I want to have a team that is able to change, and also change during a game because sometimes there are moments in a game when you cannot play as you want, and you have to manage and read the situation of the game.
“So to have only one identity in modern football is a limitation in my opinion.”
Ancelotti thinks it’s this ability to change and City’s lack of identity and versatility that makes them such tough opposition.
He said: “Sometimes they build up with three, sometimes they build up with two, sometimes their right back goes to play as a holding midfielder.
“Sometimes they don’t play with a centre-forward, they play with a number 10 as a centre-forward, so the identity of Manchester City is not clear.
“If they had a clear identity you would be more able to manage their shape, but the fact is they change their shape.
“What doesn’t change is their principles of keeping the ball, having possession and to show the quality they have.
“The principles never change.”
Speaking after their 2-0 win against Borussia Moenchengladbach on Tuesday night’s Champions league match, Pep said: “A few weeks ago, we were there (Goodison Park) and we struggled and fought a lot to win.
“We are prepared and ready for that.
“On Saturday, if we deserve it we will go through against Everton and if not we will be out.”
Injuries
Everton have been missing the creativity of Colombian James Rodriguez, who has been out of action with a calf injury and is expected back in April.
Goalkeeper Jordan Pickford has also been added to the injury list with an abdominal muscle issue.
The England international had to be subbed off in Everton’s loss against Burnley on the weekend.
The Everton manager has confirmed that £20 million summer signing Abdoulaye Doucoure, could be out for the season with a fractured bone on his foot.
On the other hand, Pep Guardiola can rely on a fully-fit squad for Saturday’s encounter.
