“They’ve conceded one or two goals of late” - Mark Lawrenson makes confident prediction ahead of Manchester City vs Everton
Former Liverpool star Mark Lawrenson has predicted Manchester City to defeat Everton 3-0 in their Premier League fixture at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday, February 10.
The Cityzens have been buoyed by the returns of Kevin De Bruyne and Erling Haaland. They have won their last five league games and are currently second in the league table with 49 points from 22 games. A win against the Toffees would see Pep Guardiola's men go above leaders Liverpool (51 points), albeit temporarily, as the Reds play later in the day.
On the other hand, Everton have been left reeling from their 10-point FFP points deduction. They are languishing in 18th with 19 points. Manchester City will be confident of securing all three points as they are unbeaten in their last 13 league games against the Toffees, winning 11, and drawing two.
Lawrenson wrote (via Paddy Power News):
"Manchester City are flying and they basically just brushed off Brentford on Monday night. Everton had a good comeback with that last-minute draw with Tottenham at the weekend. I think this will be relatively straightforward for City, the only thing is that they’ve conceded one or two goals of late. All that means is that they’ve just gone out and scored more, though."
Lawrenson's Prediction: 3-0
"I was very sad" - Kalvin Phillips explains why he had to leave Manchester City in January transfer window
Manchester City midfielder Kalvin Phillips has explained why he chose to leave the club in the January transfer window to join West Ham United on loan. The 28-year-old joined the Hammers on loan until the end of the season on January 26.
Phillips struggled to integrate himself in Pep Guardiola's system over the past 18 months after joining from Leeds United. He scored just one goal in 31 appearances, playing just 911 minutes of football.
The England international said (via Manchester City News):
“It’s obviously a massive decision for me and my family, but I think it was a decision that I needed to make because I wasn’t getting much game time. The one thing that I wanted when I left Man City in January was to be back playing and to be enjoying myself playing football as well. When you don’t play football for so long, you kind of feel a little bit useless because you’ve not been doing anything."
He added:
“So, for me, it was just more coming to a good club with good fans and just enjoying my football again. I was very sad when I knew that my next step had to be to move on, but I got over that quite quickly and was just more excited than anything to get down here and see the place and see how London is, which is very busy. I was very excited to get going.”
Phillips has made two appearances to date for West Ham. He will next be back in action for the Hammers against Arsenal on Sunday, February 11.