Sergio Aguero gets the faintest of nudges off Phil Jagielka and tumbles to the ground, earning his side a free-kick in Everton territory. Kevin de Bruyne delivers it but straight out of play. What a waste, from a player who is way, way better than that.

Chris Bevan
BBC Sport at Etihad Stadium

"Whether it was down to the lack of trams or too much traffic, it looks like a lot of Manchester City and Everton fans have missed kick-off: the away section at the Etihad - to the left of the goal in the picture - was still sparsely occupied when the game kicked off. 

"More and more fans are arriving in dribs and drabs, but the atmosphere here is still eerily quiet."

Image source, Chris Bevan

City pour forward and create the first real chance of the game as Kevin de Bruyne runs into space in the box to receive Raheem Sterling's pass but pokes his shot wide of the post.

Everton's first attack yields a corner, but Yaya Toure heads clear before Ross Barkley's tame shot fails to test Joe Hart. He had time, the England midfielder, but rushed his effort.

City settle and come forward. Muhamed Besic unnecessarily heads Raheem Sterling's cross behind for a corner. John Stones cleans up, though, with a header to clear any danger from the set-piece.

Raheem Sterling drops deep to collect a pass forward but his attempted through-ball for Sergio Aguero is cut out. Neither team taking a lot of care to keep possession in the early stages.

It's cold, it's wet and the stadium is sparsely populated, but we have a game of football on our hands.

I think when these players come out of the tunnel they are going to wonder if they have got the right night. Here they come now...

Steve Wilson
BBC Match of the Day commentator

"If familiarity breeds contempt then the second leg of the Capital One Cup semi-final will be an ill-tempered affair.

"It's tough to call which of the three meetings in three weeks between Everton and Manchester City is the most important. Having established a first-leg lead, maybe the cup tie is the crucial one to Everton, but for City it must surely be this league encounter.

"Even though they seem to amount to a little less than the sum of their parts, City are still my favourites to win the league in what most people assume will be Manuel Pellegrini's last season at the club.

"If they don't win it, then I think you can assume the manager will probably lose his job regardless of Pep Guardiola's intentions."

The players are in the tunnel. All 22 of them. Which is more people than are currently sat in the stands! Damn traffic!

Our predictions man, Mark Lawrenson upset a few West Ham fans with his predictions this week, when he suggested Bournemouth would beat the Hammers 2-1. They had the last laugh, though, courtesy of a 3-1 victory at Goldsands.

Well, tonight he reckons City will beat Everton 2-0. Here is his reasoning...

"The good news for Everton is that they are getting virtually everybody back fit - Phil Jagielka returned from injury against Dagenham & Redbridge on Saturday. 

"But City are a different proposition when Sergio Aguero is firing on all cylinders like he is at the moment - he is the best striker in the Premier League."

Image source, Getty Images

Following on from Chris' update, I can tell you that the Etihad is currently very empty. Looks like the travel problems have delayed more than a few fans. Either that or they're just bored of playing Everton all the time.

Image source, Getty Images

Chris Bevan
BBC Sport at Etihad Stadium

"After four successive away games, the lights of the Etihad Stadium on a freezing cold and wet night must be a welcome sight for Manchester City fans, who are back on home turf for the first time this year.

"The travelling Everton supporters will be just as glad to see them too - there is traffic chaos on the M62 that has delayed the Toffees team bus, and a car on the tracks means there are no trams to the Etihad from Manchester city centre either."

Image source, Chris Bevan

Man City are still without the injured Vincent Kompany and so retain Nicolas Otamendi and Martin Demichelis in the centre of their defence. They are two of six players to keep their place following the FA Cup third round win at Norwich, along with Fernando, Raheem Sterling, Jesus Navas and Sergio Aguero. Kevin de Bruyne is back in midfield, along with Yaya Toure, while Bacary Sagna and Gael Clichy fill the full-back positions. David Silva is on the bench.

Manchester City XI: Hart, Sagna, Demichelis, Otamendi, Clichy, Toure, Fernando, Navas, De Bruyne, Sterling, Aguero.

Image source, BBC Sport

Everton start with eight of the players who played in the 2-1 Capital Cup semi-final first leg win over City a week ago. The changes see Tim Howard return in net, Phil Jagielka come back into defence (with John Stones likely to switch to right-back to cover for the injured Seamus Coleman) and Leon Osman replaces the injured Tom Cleverley.

Everton XI: Howard, Funes Mori, Stones, Jagielka, Baines, Barry, Besic, Osman, Barkley, Deulofeu, Lukaku.

Image source, BBC Sport

As mentioned, a week ago today Romelu Lukaku's 19th goal of the season gave Everton a narrow 2-1 lead over Manchester City in the semi-finals of the Capital One Cup.

Our chief football reporter Phil McNulty was present to report on that game, in which Gareth Barry excelled.

"Barry has demonstrated that reports of his demise were greatly exaggerated by having an outstanding campaign this term - and all that experience was on show here," said Phil in his report. "Barry showed all his class as he strode through midfield making crucial interceptions, breaking up play and barely wasting a pass."

You can read Phil's entire report here.

Image source, AP

Here we go then, part two of the Man City v Everton 2015-16 trilogy. Part one was a relatively entertaining affair as the Toffees gained a 2-1 first leg advantage in the Capital One Cup semis. 

If we stick to accepted film norms, the second part of a trilogy is always darker. Think Han in carbonite, the Doc getting sent back to 1885 and Indy suffering the Black Sleep of Kali.

I'm not entirely sure how this relates to a game of football. Maybe City will strap Romelu Lukaku to a big iron frame and lower him into a volcano?

Image source, Rex Features