Can Everton finish 2020 on a high by beating Manchester City tonight

Tonight Everton host Manchester City and if they win the Toffees will be joint top of the Premier League, at least until Wednesday.

Everton are coming into their final match of 2020 on the back of four straight wins that has propelled them up the table to second place.

It’s been a good run of victories after the team had slipped to a string of defeats following the first international break that threatened to undermine a great start to the campaign.

This recent spell of wins has been punctured only by the Carabao Cup defeat to Manchester United last week. So can the Blues keep the league momentum going against City?

Over the past four Premier League matches the Toffees have only conceded one goal and that was a penalty in the win over Arsenal.

This contrasts with the run of four straight league wins in the opening weeks of the new season. While Everton were scoring freely at that time they also let in five goals at the other end.

This contrast is the product of a pragmatic reaction from manager Carlo Ancelotti to his constant problems with a leaky defence and injuries to his attacking stars. This forced him to re-shape his defence after a succession of experimental partnerships and formations had failed to stem the tide of goals.

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He has finally settled on a defence that has proved virtually impossible to breach. The back four of Mason Holgate, Micheal Keane, Yerry Mina and Ben Godfrey have been outstanding, helping the Blues to finally shut the door on their opponents.

It will be interesting to see whether Ancelotti picks the same side that beat Sheffield United. Again with all the injuries he doesn’t have a lot if choice.

As for City they have had a strange sort of season. Pep Guardiola’s team have played some exciting attacking football and as usual have tended to dominate possession, but despite that they have been surprisingly goal-shy at times this season.

However, defensively the sky blues have been very solid. In fact City have the best defensive record in the Premier League, which is a little unexpected. They are also in good form of late having won their last three league matches.

One of the reasons for City’s defensive resilience is the rehabilitation of former Everton centre-back John Stones. The ex-Toffees player who looked like he might be on his way out with rumours of a return to Goodison Park, has stepped up well in the lengthy absences through injury of Aymeric Laporte.

Of course City still have plenty of dangerous offensive weapons to threaten. Kevin de Bruyne, perhaps the best player in the Premier League, is having another outstanding season and Raheem Sterling, after a slow start, seems to be running into good form too.

In a way though playing a team like City will suit this current Everton side. Just like against Chelsea, Leicester City and Arsenal, the Toffees will be content to allow their opponents plenty of the ball believing they have a solid enough defence to cope with the pressure.

The only real issue is who will score the goals for the Blues? Everton are without both their South American forwards and so that puts a lot of pressure on Dominic Calvert-Lewin who hasn’t scored since the 1-1 draw at Burnley on 3 December.

While the current side is very difficult to breakdown, there is a lack of creative flair and goals. In addition, without Richarlison opposing sides can focus on stopping Calvert-Lewin knowing there’s not much of a goal threat from anyone else in this team.

This is a difficult match to call as I think fatigue is likely to play a role especially as the Blues have seemed very tired in recent games. But although it’s a tough ask, hopefully Everton can find the energy, work rate and quality once more to win this game and finish what has been a truly unique and strange twelve months on a high.