On fire Aguero can leave Toffees feeling sticky at the Etihad
WHILE some may resent the shorter, darker, colder days that come with the advent of November, the month reignited the flames of Manchester City’s Premier League campaign, bringing their title retention hopes back to life.
With Chelsea streaking out in front, an inconsistent start to their campaign saw pressure mounting on Manuel Pellegrini as City ended October with back to back upsets against West Ham and Newcastle.
After beginning the month by edging out Manchester United in their all-important derby, they proceeded to claim four league wins from five, drawing the other, proving they aren’t ready to relinquish their title just yet.
Everton, City’s opponents tomorrow, have yet to experience a similar renaissance in fortunes.
Roberto Martinez’s first year in charge was roundly heralded as a success, but he’s struggled in his sophomore season. The Toffees are currently adrift in mid-table, having recorded a measly four league wins from 14, and appear to be suffering the hangover effects of Europa League football.
Yet despite their lowly 11th place, they’ve racked up 24 league goals – a total only bettered by Chelsea and City themselves. With Romelu Lukaku, Samuel Eto’o and Steven Naismith all delivering the goods at one end of the pitch, clearly Everton’s deficiencies lie at the other.
It’s also worth noting that City have kept just one clean sheet in their last 17 league clashes with Everton.
They will also be without influential skipper and centre back Vincent Kompany to a hamstring injury. Given the two sides’ offensive abilities, and similarly, their defensive fallibilities, this looks like it could turn into a clash for the neutral. You can get 8/13 on both teams to score with Star Sports or even look at buying total goals at 3.45 with Sporting Index.
Any game featuring Sergio Aguero virtually guarantees goals. The Argentinian has been smashing more records than a bull in a vinyl shop this year, currently holding the accolade for best average goals-per-minutes played in Premier League history.
With 14 league goals in 14 games, he’s notched up more strikes on his own than Sunderland, Burnley and Aston Villa.
A supreme hat-trick against Bayern Munich last week meant he was almost single-handedly responsible for bringing about Manchester City’s remarkable 3-2 turnaround, keeping their Champions League hopes alive in the process.
He will be leant upon heavily again as Pellegrini looks to keep up momentum, and buying the striker’s goal minutes is appealing, even at quite a high 43 with Sporting Index. To peak your interest, his virtuoso display against Bayern made up a whopping 195.
■ Pointers…
Both teams to score at 8/13 with Star Sports
Buy Sergio Aguero goal minutes at 43 with Sporting Index