 Welcome to ToffeeTV, it is the match preview Everton vs Manchester City, Goddison Park, 2,000 fans there, hopefully not for the last time, we might just squeeze the West Ham game out of it, we'll watch the way you can see on that one, but 2,000 fans inside Goddison Park in a top of the table game, that's what we like to hear isn't it, man City trying to grab our, well as we record our second place office, but that sounds good doesn't it, that sounds good, I like that. Sounds very nice indeed doesn't it, yeah you know second bit, so the time we record obviously as the you know caveat data, that's certainly the 5th shot, so yeah I mean it's a pity because it's a pity that team isn't spread out like both teams have an other 4 days left, because I think it would have been a good game this match, particularly for us missing some big players, but it would have been a good game I think for teams, but having to play 48 hours after you've just played the last game I think is absolutely joke. It's not what title contenders deserve I think, I think title contenders deserve a little bit more respect and a little bit more time, because it feels like it hates the title contenders as opposed to maybe helping some other team that have got like, magically got like 3 days between their games, with everyone else has to you know basically cram in as many Jaffa Cakes as they can for 24 hours to make sure they've got the energy, so yeah, but it's going to be a tough game, it's always a tough game, Manchester City obviously are very good, very good side and this season is no different, maybe okay, maybe not looking as fluent as they have been in the past, but certainly defensively, they started to pick up, get more clean sheets now, defend them better, but it's not the game you really want after you've played 5 games in the space of 2 weeks, it's not the game you want, you know you don't want to be playing a team that can change maybe 16 players, 67 players maybe, maybe more, and also move the ball round really well and are going to work your legs a little bit more than you actually want, you know 48 hours after you've played your last game. Yeah, it's the toughest of opponents isn't it really, you know, such a good side, everyone's talking about them being, you know, not in the title, when you look at the league they're only actually 5 games, they're never full, haven't had, you know, you think that they've been terrible this season, just because they haven't hit the high you'd expect them to, but it is a big ask for us because of, just because of the plays we've been missing and obviously Richard Allison will be a big blow. The games, the sheet games we've had and these fixture, when the fixtures come out I just don't think I took much notice of December until we were in it and then when you read it back and you've had Chelsea, Leicester, Arsenal and all United was in the cup, but then you've got Man City, you know, four or five league games, it's been tough, it's been tough, so it is a bit, it's going to be a difficult game and the pleasing thing for Everton will be that there's no Gabriel Gizous who has scored in each of his last five games against us, he scored more against us, like a lot of strikers do, he seems to take us as their favourite team, more against us than any other team, but he's missing with obviously due to COVID protocol and obviously Carl Walker, who can be a little bit of a bit of a defensively book and also be very good offensively, he's got that pace as well, that recovery pace, Walker, so that will upset them a little bit because I don't think she's a good guy, I was quite fired on her all cylinders at the moment I had there, rumours that he might start again against us, which is great news for Everton, but they are still obviously at the top to our side, they're a great side and like you say I think with a bit more rest I think we might have made this game very interesting, not saying we still won't, it's made more because a day's less basically you're at it again aren't you? Let's be honest, we know what we're going to do, we're going to do exactly what we've done for the last four games, we're going to play the four at the back I imagine, I can't, unless Shames comes in. I think Shames will come in to be honest with us. But it's going to be the same style isn't it, we're going to try and dig deep, we're going to try and hit them on the, you know we're going to try and hit them on the counter attack and make a goal and make it tougher, what we have seen with Man City is if you can get a goal in front, they're not, they get frustrated because of the way they play so that might fall in our favour if we could get a goal. I think the only, one issue is for me with Man City is where we've got away with this style, maybe playing somewhere like Leicester where we know that they like to play the ball over the top and use the pace, where the city, I don't think City at times necessarily mind defences that sit deep because we've seen it, we've seen it last night against Newcastle actually. They love scoring that goal where it gets pinged to the edge of the box and then gets drilled across the penalty area and someone's on the six yard line to basically put it in, that's their trade mark goal, let's be honest. And if you've got a defence, so if you've got a defence that is sit and deep, then that's more important to them than having space behind, but saying that, they can play both ways and we've been doing it so well and that's the difference as well I suppose is that maybe some teams play against Manchester City and they change their style to do that, whereas we've been doing that for the last five games anyway, so that might help us, we're not going into this game going on, we've got to keep it tight and we can't let in, we've been doing that for the last five games, so for us it'll just be continuing what we've been doing and that might be the thing that helps us is that at the moment seems to be a very well-dilled machine, everyone seems to know what their jobs are, that's not to say it'll stop Manchester City, but certainly I think it'll give us a little bit of an advantage maybe other teams that are trying to do it against them? Yeah, I mean the interesting thing for me will be what he goes with, does he just leave it as the team started, does he look at it and go, you know, Yeri Mina has played a lot of games in the last few weeks, he'll come out, do a put Mason Holgate's centre back with Keane and Av, back, you know, do weeks to midfield up a little bit, does Gomez start instead of Sigartson maybe or does Gomez start, you know what I mean, do we take the Coray out and try to give him a break before this West Ham game, or do they go with basically the same team and say, right, let's just get through this game and then use your offer of three days to recover before West Ham, you know, it's like, it's going to be really interesting to team because you just don't know what, you don't know what he's going to have available and what he's thinking. I think in this fixture last season, when we played Newcastle, didn't we, we won 2-1 up there. I think Carlo Ancelotti actually said, it's not even a case of like who I want to play, it's who can play and I think it'll be the same in this game, it'll just be who can play and you know, we've got another game on on Friday, so it might be a case of just getting through these two games then you've got the eight days ahead of the rathering game and now we play, we play, is it, did we play the week after Wolves? Got a mid-week game, haven't you? Yeah, got mid-week games then, so we've got like eight days then where players can get plenty of rest and obviously, you know, we're not going to go full strength against rather than margin. So it might just be a case of just using what we've got in these two games. I don't know whether you'll prioritise one over the other, I really don't know, but obviously, you'd have to almost prioritise the West Ham game anyway because simply because of the gap between Sheffields and I did in this game, you're going to have to maybe start with a Bernard, you're going to have to start with an Andre Gomez, all right, Tom Davis probably will be able to get through the two games because he's played a lot of games, then you said, does Seamus Coleman play? Does Mason Holgate maybe go to centre-back alongside Michael Keane and you've yet to be able to rest in a game like this, do you know what I mean? Ben Goff, he could probably play three games a day, so I'm not really worried about him. Tom, I mean, that's the one, isn't it? That's the key. But then again, I don't think he looked as fresh. I mean, the irony of winning four games in a row is he hasn't scored in those four games, but I'm hoping that he's not too worried about that. I'm saying he's not too worried about that. Maybe he played a shank. Maybe he played a shank. Shop window shank. Yeah, just getting a couple of chance, I'm not sure you know. No bonus, the man that you might look and go, well, I'm going to Dominic Alvaluens, played 95 minutes at Sheffield United, he played, you know, he come off against Man United, wasn't it, or it was a last comeoff. Both of them, yeah, both of them. Again, he both, yet later played the 95 against Sheffield United. Is it having him fully or fresh as he can be for the best time on Friday, or do we, and do we give Shane Towson an hour, or 65, 70 minutes here against City? I know people will be watching this, go, no, no, put Dominic, I know that. You've got to see how, like you've just said, maybe they'll look at his levels and all that, and he'll be, and he'll go, there's nine, 10 players there who are fine, who are fine to play in this game, and they're all alright, but maybe we'll, we'll, you know, they've gone into data for his farm on a recovery day, maybe tomorrow he'll look at it and go, like, to making six changes, because these lads haven't got the legs, so when Kung-Q starts in a game you didn't think, and John Joe Kenny might be considered, you know, Seamus comes in, or Andre Gomez is in midfield, and, you know, think, like you said, Dave is probably going to play for at least an hour, maybe he has to do it like that, and we just have to... Can't spread ourselves too thin, can we? No, we don't want to, we've got to look at everything, and like I said, the only disappointment for me is that this isn't a game that's taking place once a week, kind of thing, because I think we could have had to really go up Man City, and it would have been a really interesting game. We might have been able to catch them out on this one, but we'll just, we'll have to see, we'll have to see, Dave won't be fully fresh either, even if they make four or five changes of this juncture, so we'll just have to see, it'll be a tough game, but it's that good, there's 2,000 of our fans there under the lights, and you never know what happens. Get it, as long as you don't lose, then the city can't go above us, and it's the next point. I'll be honest, I'll be delighted with the point because of the circumstances, I'll be absolutely delighted with the point, and that's not me being the feeder, that's me being a realist in the circumstances. The human beings, I say this all the time, I said this after me, I said this after the Man United game, the human beings, we've got a squad that's getting stretched to the edge, and they're doing brilliantly, I'm not having to go with anyone, after the chef in the United game, I said to myself, it's a pleasure to have great games, but I wasn't having to go with them, because ultimately this time of the year, me saying this all month, it's about managing what you've got, and when you lose on players through injuries, you know, we lose with charism through concussion, do you know what I mean? That's the problem, these lads will run through brick walls for you, run through brick walls for you, and things like that happen, and there's nothing you can do about it, and all you can hope is that, you know, all you can hope is people come in and do, give it 100%, and that, this and what we've got mightn't be enough, but you never know, it might be enough, it might be because these lads now seem to be, seem to be harnessing at least that kind of spirit that we've all been calling for, and you see the players, that's why I've been, I think we've all been so impressed with Ben Godfrey, because you've seen it, I've seen on Christmas Day, I've seen pictures of kids holding up his shirt, and him like, you know, and him like, retweeting them and stuff, and that to me, buying a kid from Norwich, I sent her back, and suddenly he's become like a little cult idol, you know, a fan, everyone loves him, that to me, shows the spirit that is within this team at the moment, and you've got people like, I'm a Mason Allgate, I like to be in Bash Brothers' ardy, I like those two kids who were in the mighty ducks, it's a little good reference for you there, they're like the little Bash Brothers, you know, they've got that kind of spirit and you know, Dom, Dom, Dom and he, yeah, Dom breathes out of his nose and I like, see, is Bob Latchford, honestly. He got his shoulders, I said this to my dad watching the game the other day, I said, he holds himself like, with the shoulders. I can't really remember Bob playing for everyone, but the way you see the footage it's that, but they, well, those three lads got in common, they're all in New Yorkshire lads, aren't they? Yeah, they're all lads who've come through, played lower league and battled, and I love that, I absolutely love that in our team, and that they're people who, Evertonians can get behind fully because you know that they're giving everything, and they've got a little bit of needle about them as well, particularly the two lads. Definitely, definitely. They both want to mix it. So, yeah, that's all we asked for, isn't it? Have a go, see what happens. Don't get any more injuries. Have a couple of days off and be fresh for West Ham on Friday, and we'll see what happens, you know. I'm not counting this team out, whatsoever, because we've seen it already, do things that we didn't think it was, you know, was capable of, or getting results that we didn't think they were gonna get, so hopefully we should... City are brilliant. Yeah, we know City are brilliant. Go on, just, you might as well, because you might as well, we all know it anyway, so you might as well just read them off. Everton have won one of the last 14 Premier League games against Manchester City, it was the 4-0 win at Gouldersen, and you said it before when I'd mentioned this, it's mad because we have an arm, and this, you know, we can beat these, and yet the record's not great, but we've drawn four and lost nine of them. City have won each of the last five games against Everton, and they're the longest ever winning run against us in the top flight. Manchester City have scored four goals in the last six away games, never more than one in a game, having less than 12 in the previous three. There you go. Everton have won the last four Premier League games, you're looking to win five in a row, since the first time, since April 2014, when we won seven in a row. Sigurdsson has been involved in four goals in 14 games this season, two goals to assist, one fewer than he had in 35 appearances last season. Both of his league goals this season for the Toffees have been winning goals, and since Pep Guardiola took charge of Manchester City in 2016, Raheem Staling has been involved in more goals in all competitions than any other player against Newcastle last time out being the 150th goal he's been involved in. He scored 96 and had 54 assists under Pep Guardiola, which is absolutely incredible. They're incredible numbers for the player that some people still don't rate. It's absolutely bizarre, bizarre to me, but he's a fantastic footballer. It's going to be a tough game, but like you just said, when we were going into December, how many people said to us, Pep can't just get an end point in December, and we've got 13, haven't we so far out of 18? Sorry, up to 15, 13 out of 15 in the league, which is incredible, so let's see what happens. Fingers crossed, if you go and enjoy it, let's hope we get Friday out of it as well, everyone who's going to take it for Friday gets to go as well. And use it to add advantage, use it, shout your lungs off, there you go. Right, there you go, big thanks for watching, if you haven't watched The Final Word as well. Bas is getting smaller and smaller as his internet connection gets worse and worse. I don't know if you've noticed this on the screen. Am I? Tell Zach, never ever to go on the internet while we're doing a live show, please, because honestly, God, you have gone, it's like some kind of Willy Wonka thing, and I can't really be bothered changing it back, so what I'm going to do is I'm just going to knock it off the screen and I'm going to be on the screen. Right, there you go, big thanks for joining us, make sure to check out The Final Word from the Sheffield United game, give this video a like, subscribe if you haven't already, if you want more great videos, join us over on Patreon, the link will be there, no, no, there, sorry, I'm trying to see where I am, there you go, thanks for watching, see you later, bye.