Everton host Manchester City at Goodison Park later tonight, and a tough clash is expected given what is at stake for both teams.
A win for the visitors will see them leapfrog league leaders Liverpool in the Premier League table, while it will similarly boost the hosts’ confidence after a poor run of games.
City are favourites given how brilliant they have been thus far this term despite losing four times, and manager Marco Silva reckons only a perfect performance from his men can hand them a fair chance of snatching victory.
“To be ready to achieve a good result and win against Manchester City, you have to give almost the perfect performance. With no mistakes, always fully focussed, a fantastic attitude and ready to fight and achieve a good result,” Silva told evertontv.
“They are having more than 70 per cent possession against all the teams – so you have to be solid and compact. They will play close to our box a lot, even if we do not want that, so we have to be focussed and strong and put the right aggressiveness on the pitch.
“Then when you have the ball, you have to play with ambition, with one aim in your mind, to try to create some damage to them and create the chances to try to score. When we have the ball and the opportunity to make the offensive transition or counter-attack, we have to be able to do it fast, to be assertive and create chances to score.”
Everton’s recent performances have been riddled with individual mistakes and dismal defensive displays, and should that continue against City, they could be in for a huge defeat.
It remains to be seen if the Toffees can soak up all the pressure from Pep’s men all game, but they are definitely going to play their own game, and should they replicate the performance they put in at the Etihad and cut out the mistakes, they have a chance to cause an upset.
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