It's so ponderous, the City build-up play. Everyone is taking an extra touch, waiting a few seconds and it just slows everything down.

Shamoon Hafez
BBC Sport football news reporter at Etihad Stadium

Everton haven't conceded in their last three and have the best defensive record in Europe's top five leagues since October but have also failed to find the net in nine of their 17 league matches so far this season.

It will be interesting to see how that dynamic changes should City be able to find an early goal.

Image source, Getty Images

Decent from Everton now as Dominic Calvert-Lewin nearly gets on the end of a crossfield ball from Jack Harrison. That came from Idrissa Gueye running right through the City midfield which looks so slow at the moment.

Matthew Upson
Former England defender on Amazon Prime

Manchester City just caught Everton out really. Josko Gvardiol does everything right. That is a great header but he just can't get it on the right side of the post.

Image source, Getty Images

Paul Robinson
Former England goalkeeper on BBC Radio 5 Live

This is exactly how Man City started in the Tottenham game. They started well but the second Tottenham got past them and scored, you could see the confidence drain out of them.

That has been their biggest flaw this season, when questions have been asked of them.

I'm fairly sure that I took Josko Gvardiol out of my fantasy team this week so that early chance figures...

Matthew Upson
Former England defender on Amazon Prime

Everton have got a solid framework for these kind of matches. They are happy not to have the ball but can still fashion some chances to score, like they did against Chelsea last time.

Image source, Getty Images

Off the post! City work a corner well and Josko Gvardiol - as dangerous as anyone in sky blue this season - heads well against the near post.

Mark Ogden
Senior writer for ESPN on BBC Radio 5 Live

This is a very weird Man City team. It's a good City team but one that is not recognisable. They really need a win. They go into January in an unusual situation where they probably need five or six players.

Alan Shearer said that players giving there would have to give it a second thought and he's right, you wouldn't have thought that would have been the case not that long ago.

Shamoon Hafez
BBC Sport football news reporter at Etihad Stadium

The tricky Jeremy Doku up against 36-year-old Seamus Coleman, who last started a game in August, should be a fun watch today.

Rico Lewis and Josko Gvardiol are at full-back for City today by the looks of it early on. Everton almost get Iliman Ndiaye in behind that high line straight away.

Everton get us under way!

Image source, Reuters

There's a touching minute's silence after much applause as the names of some of those connected to these great clubs who have died this year were shown on the screens - including icons of the Premier League era such as Kevin Campbell and Sven Goran Eriksson.

Matthew Upson
Former England defender on Amazon Prime

This is a tough, tough game for Manchester City against a team that is very stubborn. It's going to test City's attacking ability for sure.

But Everton can also pack a punch in counter-attacks. That City defence will need to be on their toes.

Stuart Pearce
Former England defender on Amazon Prime

The first goal is going to be vital today. The Etihad Stadium is nervous at the best of times these days, so if Everton can get their noses in front first, we could be in for a good game here.

Here come the sides...

Let's start Boxing Day with a bang.

That is indeed true but last summer City only signed Savinho - raw, unproven - and Ilkay Gundogan - cooked.

So some fresh signings wouldn't go amiss you'd think.

The weather at the Etihad is quite frankly frightful by the way. It looks ok at pitch level but the drone cameras show a sheet of dense fog. That could make life interesting if it descends later on.