Title-chasing Manchester City will host Everton at the Etihad Stadium on Wednesday night looking to gain ground on Arsenal and Leicester City at the top of the Premier League table.

City currently sit three points adrift of the Gunners in third place, while Everton are down in the bottom half and nine points off the top four.

Man City

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Manchester City will make their return to the Etihad Stadium on Wednesday having played each of their last four games away from home.

Manuel Pellegrini's side have not played in front of their own supporters since Boxing Day, and their fortunes have been mixed during their time away.

A goalless draw against fellow high-flyers Leicester City in their final game of 2015 looked like being followed by a defeat to Watford in their first outing of the calendar year, only for Yaya Toure and Sergio Aguero to rescue all three points for City at Vicarage Road.

Some even went as far as to claim that that late comeback kept Pellegrini's side in the title race, and at the very least it showed that they have the sort of character that is usually associated with champions.

There is still work to be done, with the gap to Arsenal three points, but with the Gunners facing a tricky away trip to Liverpool and Leicester visiting Tottenham Hotspur, victory for City on Wednesday could well be enough to take them top of the Premier League table.

Their focus has been on cup competitions over the past week, and Everton were again the opponents in the first leg of their League Cup semi-final last Wednesday as the Toffees secured a 2-1 advantage to take to the Etihad later this month.

City bounced straight back to winning ways with a 3-0 triumph over Norwich City in the third round of the FA Cup on Saturday, however, which means that it is now just one defeat in their last five outings.

Pellegrini will be confident of extending that run on their return to home comforts, with City having won 10 of their last 11 matches at the Etihad in all competitions, including each of their last five.

Unsurprisingly, the Citizens have the best home record in the Premier League this season, picking up more points and scoring more goals than any other side, while stretching back to last season they have won 15 of their last 17 home league games.

However, they have not kept a clean sheet in front of their own fans since August and, with Vincent Kompany still sidelined for this match, that could be a potential weak spot as City go in search of consecutive league wins for the first time since October.

Recent form: LWLWDW
Recent form (all competitions): LWDWLW

Everton

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That leaky defensive record will certainly interest a free-scoring Everton side who will be well acquainted with Manchester City by the end of the month.

This is the second of three meetings between the two sides in January, and Roberto Martinez may be viewing this as a dress rehearsal for their League Cup semi-final second leg on January 27.

The Toffees currently lead the three-match series 1-0, and progress in the League Cup will be high on their priority list considering that they have not won a major trophy since lifting the FA Cup in 1995.

Their league position if anything places more importance on that second leg against City, with Everton still stuck in the bottom half despite boasting one of the division's most potent attacks this season.

Romelu Lukaku alone has 15 league goals for the campaign and 12 in his last 12 appearances in all competitions, including the winner against City last week moments after Jesus Navas had levelled things up for the visitors at Goodison Park.

It is at the other end of the field where the problems lie, though. No team outside the bottom six has conceded more goals than Everton's 29 this season, which is a major reason behind their current run of just one league win in their last seven outings.

Their last three league victories have come against the current bottom three, while they have not recorded a victory over top-half opposition all season - a record that simply must change if they harbour European ambitions.

They were fortunate to come away with a draw from their home meeting with Tottenham Hotspur in their last league outing, but they do at least go into Wednesday's game on the back of a victory having avoided an upset against Dagenham & Redbridge in the FA Cup third round.

The Etihad will not faze Martinez's men either - they have lost just one of their 12 away outings in all competitions this season, with that solitary defeat coming at league leaders Arsenal back in October.

Recent form: DDLWLD
Recent form (all competitions): LWLDWW

Team News

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Lukaku, the match-winner when these two sides met just a week ago, is a doubt for this game due to the ankle injury he sustained just before heading his side into a first-leg advantage in the League Cup semi-final.

He is one of a clutch of players who have a question mark hanging over their heads for this match, with Tom Cleverley, Ramiro Funes Mori and Steven Naismith also struggling for fitness.

Bryan Oviedo and captain Phil Jagielka made their long-awaited returns from injury in the FA Cup on Saturday, and the latter could be in line to start alongside in-demand John Stones if Funes Mori fails to recover from his head injury.

Seamus Coleman has been ruled out for a month, however, while James McCarthy and Tyias Browning are both still some way from returning to the side.

City have a number of doubts themselves, with Fernandinho, Toure and David Silva all having picked up knocks and Wilfried Bony still feeling his calf injury.

The extent of Eliaquim Mangala's hamstring injury is still unknown, but he is likely to join fellow centre-back Kompany on the sidelines, while Samir Nasri is out until April.

Man City possible starting lineup:
Hart; Sagna, Otamendi, Demichelis, Kolarov; Fernando, Toure, De Bruyne, Silva, Sterling; Aguero

Everton possible starting lineup:
Howard; Oviedo, Stones, Jagielka, Baines; Barkley, Barry, Besic; Deulofeu, Lukaku, Kone

Head To Head

Manchester City have won four and lost none of the last five league meetings between these two sides, while they are unbeaten against the Toffees on home soil since a 2-1 reverse in December 2010.

However, Everton do have a good record against City overall in the Premier League era, beating them 17 times. They have only recorded more victories over West Ham United in the same timeframe.

As already mentioned, Martinez's side ran out 2-1 winners when these two met in the League Cup just a week ago, but goals from Aleksandar Kolarov and Nasri handed City a 2-0 win in the reverse league fixture at Goodison. The corresponding fixture last term saw Toure score the only goal of the game from the penalty spot.

We say: Man City 3-2 Everton

These two sides both boast a prolific attack and a leaky defence, which should hopefully result in goals galore at the Etihad. The Toffees have the tools to hurt City, but whether they are capable of keeping Aguero and co out at the other end is another matter. We're going for a 3-2 home victory.

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