Everton and Manchester City Clash in the Highlight of the Round

In the match of the round, two teams high on confidence clash in a battle that will have mighty repercussions on the rest of their seasons, as the impressive Manchester City take on the might of Everton away at Goodison Park.

Everton have been dark horses this year, always round about the mark with the artillery to take down a top team, but have failed to match the consistency needed to break into the vaunted top four. In this classic match up against a higher placed opponent, they finally have the opportunity to break through the murky waters of a middle of the road club, and catapult themselves into Champions League reckoning. They will have to do so without top scorer Yakubu, energetic midfielder Steven Pienaar and fringe player Joseph Yobo as they have been spirited away to the African Cup of Nations, but they will welcome the return of their inspirational leader in the middle of the park, as Mikel Arteta returns from a lengthy suspension. Everton have spread the goal-scoring feats around this year, with thirteen players contributing to the scorer's sheet, making their scoring capacity harder to quell and giving them an offensive threat from anywhere on the park. Whilst Yakubu is away on National Duty, the Toffee's will look to dynamic Australian midfielder Tim Cahill to lead from the front, with the hard-hitting central midfielder already contributing six goals to his sides cause since his return from injury.


Manchester City have been gathering results as of late, but not with the same attacking panache that had the critics heralding a Citizen side capable of seriously challenging the top four teams deep into the season. As it lies, they find themselves in the top four, but with a goal differential that will need to be increased if they are to have any chance of reaching their ambitious goals. They are given a perfect opportunity to stamp their authority on the competition once again when they take on rivals Everton away in a match that could leverage enough points to secure them a sizeable advantage over their nearest rivals. They will welcome back their Brazilian star Elano who has been struggling with fitness issues, who will replace Mexican ace Nery Castillo who has not adapted so far with the pace of the Premier League. Teenage sensation Michael Johnson will again miss this match with an abdominal strain that has troubled him all season. The attacking trio of Elano, Martin Petrov and Rolando Bianchi hold the key to City's attacking fortunes, as they can all score at will and create attacking threats out of nothing but if they are quelled it leaves City with precious other attacking options.

In a match that holds serious consequences for the loser, I do not expect either team to come out with an attacking game plan. Everton could struggle without their goal-scoring mainstay, but with the home crowd behind them it will more than compensate for their loss. As in many such salivating Premier League battles with much at stake, I think the draw is a viable option, which at the odds of $3.35 at Party Bets has a lot of value attached to it.

The other value match of the round involves the enigma from Fratton Park in Portsmouth taking on Sunderland at the Stadium of Light.

Portsmouth has been one of the break-out teams of the season, but the African Cup of Nations threatens to seriously de-rail their aspirations of a European spot. They travel to the Stadium of Light with an eighth away victory in the cards, but they will need to do so without the integral foursome of Sully Muntari, Kanu, Papa Bouba Diop and John Utaka who are away at the African tournament. Glen Johnson could return to Pompey's line-up but faces a late check on a hamstring strain, and Sean Davis will need a pain-killing injection to return from a foot injury. They will rely on the guile of Zimbabwean forward Benjani Mwaruwari who has netted nine times already in the Premier League, and the defensive duo of hard man Sylvain Distin who has played every minute of Pompey's campaign, and top keeper David James who leads the Barclays Golden Glove with ten clean sheets.

Sunderland was impressive last season in the Championship under the tutelage of Roy Keane, but they have struggled so far in the Premiership and face a relegation dogfight to continue their dalliance with the EPL. They will have to do so without Dickson Etuhu and Danny Higginbotham who are away at the African Cup of Nations and struggling with injury respectfully. There is doubt over dynamo Kenwyne Jones, but Michael Chopra is fit and available for selection. They will need to break their historical duck against Portsmouth, with Sunderland not having beaten them since the winter of 1956, almost 52 years ago.

Portsmouth has not showed the form they had early in the season in the last few rounds, but they have the talent to play Sunderland off the park. I would take the $2.50 available for them at Party Bets

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