Man City vs Everton Prediction for 18 October 2025 - Football

🔊 Will Manchester City maintain their spot in the top five after the 8th round of the Premier League? On October 18, Everton, trailing by just a couple of points, will visit the "Citizens." A win could see the "Toffees" leapfrog Pep Guardiola's side. However, the odds suggest that bookmakers are skeptical of such an outcome. Perhaps if Jack Grealish were available to play at the Etihad, the situation might be different, but the Englishman, on loan from City, won't feature in the match. How will this impact the visitors' performance?

Head-to-Head

📊 For nearly a decade, these teams have clashed exclusively in the Premier League, and Everton have struggled to challenge the Citizens. They've managed to earn points in just 2 of their last 16 encounters, without a single victory. A particularly disheartening statistic for the Toffees.

Manchester City Team Overview

After a slump in August, things have turned around for Manchester City. The team looks quite confident, rarely dropping points. This has only happened in away games against Arsenal (1-1) and Monaco (2-2), with their opponents managing to snatch draws in the dying minutes on both occasions.

In their last Premier League outing, the Citizens secured a pragmatic 1-0 victory over Brentford. Naturally, it was Erling Haaland who found the back of the net, seemingly in the form of his life. The Norwegian sensation has scored in ten consecutive matches, tallying 19 goals. Just a week ago, he netted a hat-trick against the Israeli national team, despite missing two penalties from the spot.

Everton Team Overview

The Toffees had a lackluster September. It's hard to describe a winless month any other way, especially considering their schedule wasn't the toughest. A struggling Aston Villa (0-0) and a similarly challenged West Ham (1-1) were opponents they needed to defeat at home.

However, just before the international break, David Moyes' side finally gave their home fans something to cheer about with a hard-fought victory. They ended the historic unbeaten run of Crystal Palace (2-1), leaving the Premier League without any teams unbeaten this season. Jack Grealish, who hadn't scored since the August match against Wolverhampton (3-2), netted the decisive goal in the 93rd minute.

Latest news

Manchester City

🔝 Erling Haaland has been named the Premier League Player of the Month for September. The Norwegian shared his thoughts on the achievement: "I'm thrilled to receive this award for the fourth time. It always means a lot, so thank you to everyone who voted for me. I also want to thank my teammates, coaches, and all the staff – we achieve everything together."

❌ Rayan Aït-Nouri and Omar Marmoush have resumed training. According to Guardiola, both are close to returning to action. However, Rodri and Abduqodir Khusanov remain sidelined.

Everton

📝 Everton's ever-reliable first-choice goalkeeper, Jordan Pickford, has extended his contract with the club until 2029. "I'm thrilled. I'm glad everything is settled—two more years, making it four in total. I'm over the moon: this gives me the opportunity to leave my legacy here, move forward, and build this club into what we want it to be," the goalkeeper stated.

❌ Jarred Branthwaite and Merlin Röhl have resumed training with the main group, but Nathan Patterson has unfortunately landed in the treatment room. However, he's not a regular starter. A much more significant loss is Jack Grealish, who, due to regulations, will be unable to play against the club that holds his contract.

🟨 Referee and Yellow Cards

🟨 Referee and Yellow Cards

Tony Harrington has been appointed for this clash. The Englishman has a high average of yellow cards in the current Premier League season—around five per game, and even over a span of 10 matches, it doesn't drop much, averaging 4.6.

However, we should focus not on the total number of bookings but on how many Everton earn in their head-to-heads with Man City. The Toffees have outdone the Citizens in this regard for seven consecutive games. It will be incredibly challenging for David Moyes' men at the Etihad, so it's quite likely that this trend will continue. Away team to win in yellow cards seems like the optimal choice.

⚽️ Goal Prediction

Without Jack Grealish, the Toffees will find it extremely difficult to pose any serious threat in attack. Especially considering they've scored no more than a single goal in 15 consecutive matches against Man City, often leaving empty-handed. The odds for Everton under 1.5 goals aren't the highest, but it's a solid pick for an accumulator.

🚩 Corner Prediction

At first glance, Everton's only viable strategy for picking up points seems to be surrendering possession and setting up a tight defense on their half, avoiding any shootout. This scenario is likely to unfold, meaning the hosts will gather plenty of corners as they try to break down the packed defense. Man City to deliver more than 6.5 corners has happened in five consecutive head-to-heads against the Toffees and also in six of their last seven home matches across all competitions, which is what we're banking on here.

Everton have kicked off the season with promise, giving fans hope for more than just a relegation battle this year. However, at the Etihad, their chances of celebration seem slim. The opposition are in superb form, nearly at full strength, and rarely slip up in head-to-head clashes. Overcoming this trend without Jack Grealish, who has quickly become a pivotal figure in their attack, will be challenging. Thus, we anticipate the hosts will comfortably secure the desired outcome. Our main bet is on a Manchester City win with a -1 handicap, with a predicted scoreline of 2-0.