Manchester City-Everton Preview: Ancelotti arrives
Everton have recovered from a dismal start after the arrival of former Champions League-winning manager Carlo Ancelotti. Now, they face a massive test at the Etihad against Manchester City.
Before former Champions League-winning coach Carlo Ancelotti arrived at Goodison Park, Everton were mired in a relegation dogfight, but now represent a real test for Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City.
In what will be a battle of two of the best coaches of this generation, Manchester City will need to find a way to consistently produce their best in the first game of 2020—something they have yet to do to this point in the season.
In the last meetings between the two legendary coaches, Ancelotti’s Real Madrid defeated Guardiola’s Bayern Munich side twice in the 2014 Champions League semi-finals, a tournament which Madrid would go on to win.
Everton have climbed all the way up to tenth under the Italian, and City must continue to apply pressure on second-place Leicester City as they look to firmly establish themselves in next season’s Champions League places. Ederson should return to the side from suspension, and perhaps Eric García could get a second consecutive league start under his belt after a good performance against Sheffield.
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Heading into the New Year, now is the time for City to begin to establish a rhythm as they look to take a stranglehold on Leicester in second and begin for a Champions League push in February.
The back end of 2019 was difficult, but in 2020 there lies a massive opportunity: for City to win the Champions League, the most elusive trophy of all during this incredibly successful decade. That journey begins tomorrow, in Manchester, against a rapidly improving Everton team. Here’s to another year of Manchester City football.