Good evening! Thank you very much for joining Sports Mole for the first leg of the League Cup semi-final between Everton and Manchester City. The Toffees welcome City to Goodison Park for tonight's match looking to emulate their local rivals Liverpool, who took a first-leg advantage in the other semi-final with victory over Stoke City last night. Let's start with a look at the two teams on show...

EVERTON STARTING XI: Joel; Coleman, Stones, Funes Mori, Baines; Barry, Besic, Deulofeu, Barkley, Cleverley; Lukaku

EVERTON SUBS: Howard, Jagielka, Kone, Mirallas, Osman, Lennon, Galloway

MAN CITY STARTING XI: Caballero; Sagna, Mangala, Otamendi, Clichy; Delph, Fernandinho, De Bruyne, Toure, Silva; Aguero

MAN CITY SUBS: Hart, Demichelis, Kolarov, Fernando, Sterling, Navas, Iheanacho

What can we make of those two teams, then? Well, as was the case last night, both managers have opted for strong sides in a bid to reach Wembley, and there aren't really any surprises in either lineup. Roberto Martinez revealed in yesterday's press conference that Joel Robles would be starting in goal ahead of Howard, who has come under criticism recently but was always likely to be rested for this match anyway. That is one of three changes made by the hosts from the side that drew with Spurs on Sunday.

There is no change at the top end of the field as Lukaku once again leads the line for the Toffees having been in the form of his life in recent weeks. He has 11 goals in his last 11 games for Everton and three in four League Cup games so far this season. He is particularly potent at Goodison too, having a direct hand in 10 goals in his last six games here (seven goals, three assists).

© Getty Images

He has linked up particularly well with Deulofeu in recent weeks, so will be pleased to see the Spaniard return to the starting lineup tonight in one of those three changes. He comes in for Lennon, who drops to the bench despite scoring a fine volley against his former club Tottenham at the weekend. On the other side of the trio behind the striker is Cleverley, who will push further forward than usual due to the presence of Besic alongside Barry in midfield. Kone is the man to make way to accommodate Besic.

The defensive four remains the same despite some concerns that Baines may struggle to play a midweek game straight after a weekend one having only recently returned from injury. The left-back is included, though, while Stones and Funes Mori continue their partnership in the heart of the defence with Jagielka still not quite fit enough to start. The first rumblings of interest in Stones were felt today, and Everton will be hoping that the youngster performs as well amid the speculation as he did towards the tail end of the summer window.

As for Man City, they also make three changes to the team they put out at the weekend, with Joe Hart amongst the players to drop to the bench. Caballero is given a rare outing, as is often the case in cup competitions, which will be a positive for Everton. Caballero is a highly accomplished goalkeeper in his own right, but Hart has been in good form for the majority of this season and the hosts will fancy their chances more against an out-of-practice replacement.

Like Everton, Man City are currently missing their captain and key central defender as once again Kompany misses out, which means that Mangala and Otamendi play at the back together again. They have not been convincing at all so far and were caused plenty of problems by Ighalo at the weekend, so it will be interesting how the cope with the threat of an in-form Lukaku up there for Everton. Elsewhere in defence Sagna continues on the right, while Clichy replaces Kolarov - scoring of an own goal against Watford at the weekend - on the opposite flank.

City's third change comes in midfield as Delph is drafted in to replace Sterling, who drops to the bench as a result. Delph may well operate in an advanced role or he could sit alongside Fernandinho as the base of the midfield, allowing Yaya Toure a chance to venture a little further forward. The Ivorian scored again against Watford to make it three goals in his last four Premier League appearances, and he will fancy his chances against what has been a leaky Everton defence this season.

Of course, Man City's attacking threat is not limited to Toure, with Kevin de Bruyne and Silva also providing ammunition for the deadly Aguero, who appears to be slowly getting back to full match sharpness following a spell on the sidelines. There were questions whether Aguero could cope with the busy fixture schedule, but Pellegrini insists that he can, and he had little choice anyway due to a calf injury picked up by Bony. If Aguero is on form tonight, he could have a field day considering how many goals Everton have shipped of late.

It is those defensive woes that are so far spoiling Everton's season. On the face of it, there is plenty to be positive about from an Everton point of view. The team plays good, exciting football and they have a young side which Martinez has hailed in tonight's programme notes as perhaps the best collection in Europe. However, the results have not been going their way and, despite being amongst the league's top scorers, they find themselves stuck in the bottom half.

The fact that Everton have scored more goals than league leaders Arsenal is enough to show that the problem is not in the final third, but rather at the other end of the field. No side outside the bottom six has conceded more than Everton's 29 this season, and while their games are certainly entertaining from a neutral point of view - 20 league matches this season have provided an unmatched tally of 65 goals - I'm sure Everton fans would rather the odd 1-0 win rather than a 3-3 draw.

Nine points now separate the Toffees from the top four, while they are only 10 clear of the relegation zone. The main reason behind that position is the amount of games that Everton have drawn. They have shared the spoils on nine occasions from 20 league games this season - no team has drawn more games - winning just six and losing five. Only one of those wins have come in their last six outings, and that was against struggling Newcastle. Their last next win before that came at the start of the December when they beat Championship outfit Middlesbrough to reach this stage of the League Cup.

It is Everton's home form that is causing Martinez the most concern at the moment. His side have picked up more league points on the road than at Goodison this season, winning just three times in front of their own fans - only Bournemouth, Newcastle and Aston Villa have won fewer. They have amassed just 12 points from their 11 home games compared to 14 from nine away matches, losing four games at Goodison and just one on the road.

Perhaps the most stark statistic again comes when you look at Everton's goal record, however. The Toffees may have scored 23 home league goals this season, a tally only Man City can beat, but they have also conceded a league-high 20 - 11 more than they have conceded away from home. Indeed, they have conceded as many goals in their last four home games (9) as they have all season on the road. It is unsurprising, then, that they are winless in that four-game run stretching back to November.

Fortunately, considering that form, only one of Everton's League Cup matches has come at Goodison this season, and they scraped past Norwich City on penalties on that occasion. They have, however, won six of their last seven home League Cup games since defeat to Chelsea in their last appearance in a semi-final back in 2007-08. Indeed, Chelsea are the only visiting team to win a League Cup tie at Goodison since 2006.

That penalty shootout victory over Norwich was Everton's only meeting with Premier League opposition in this year's League Cup before tonight. The first hurdle saw them take on Barnsley, although it was not all straightforward on the night as they needed extra time to win through 5-3. Reading were then dispatched 2-1 before the shootout victory over Norwich and 2-0 triumph over Championship leaders Middlesbrough.

It is safe to say, then, that Manchester City are the biggest test that Everton have come up against in this season's competition so far. It is also fair to say that Manuel Pellegrini's side have been the most impressive team in the tournament, cruising through to the semi-finals by sweeping aside all three of their opponents so far - including two Premier League outfits. They thrashed Sunderland 4-1 before going one better with a 5-1 triumph over Crystal Palace to reach the quarter-finals, where they reverted to a 4-1 scoreline against Hull.

That gives them 13 goals in three League Cup ties this season and, considering the defensive frailties that we have already discussed about Everton, they will fancy their chances of adding to that tally over these two legs. It is a competition that City take seriously too, with Manuel Pellegrini having hoisted the trophy aloft for his first piece of silverware at the club back in 2013-14.

Their recent record in the League Cup proves just how seriously they take it. City have won 10 of their last 11 games in the competition, scoring a whopping 42 goals in that time and only managing less than three on two occasions - and one of those they scored twice. The big anomaly in that run was a 2-0 defeat at the hands of Newcastle in the last 16 last season, but on the whole this is a competition that City have a superb recent record in.

Even their League Cup away form is impressive with six wins and a draw from their last seven trips in this competition, since a 2-1 defeat at West Brom in September 2010. The same can not be said of their general away form this season, however, with City's record on the road being their main obstacle towards a title challenge so far. Their win over Watford at the weekend, in which they needed two goals in the final 10 minutes to overturn a 1-0 deficit, was their first domestic away win in seven games - a run that stretched back to September 12.

Even more worryingly, before those two goals in as many minutes, City had scored just one goal in their previous five away games, while the match at Vicarage Road was the first time that they have scored more than once on the road since their last visit to Goodison Park back in August.

They have picked up just 15 points on the road in the Premier League this season compared to 24 at the Etihad, and incredibly only four teams have scored fewer away goals than the title challengers (10). By the same token, it should also be noted that only two teams have conceded fewer, but it is certainly not what you expect from Man City.

Despite their recent away troubles, City have only lost one of their last six games in all competitions, with that coming at league leaders Arsenal. They have won six of their last nine outings too and remain in a decent position in the Premier League title race. Indeed, City are still in all four competitions, and Pellegrini will be desperate to win at least one of them in what is looking increasingly like his final season in charge due to the impending arrival of Pep Guardiola in the Premier League.

PREDICTION: Right, we're 10 minutes from kickoff at Goodison Park, which means that it is time for a prediction! First legs are usually cagey affairs, but I'm not sure whether either of these sides does cagey. Lukaku could cause City's defence all sorts of problems, and the opposite is also the case with Aguero against Everton's leaky back line. Hopefully it will live up to the billing and be an entertaining goalfest between two of the league's top scorers. I'm going for 2-2.

Man City are unbeaten in their last five meetings with Everton, winning four of those and drawing the other. When it comes to the League Cup, though, it is honours even between the [air. Man City won the first ever meeting between the two sides in this competition back in 1960, but Everton levelled the series in their most recent clash - the 1988 quarter-final.

In terms of overall pedigree, though, City have the edge. For all of their history, Everton have never actually won the League Cup. They have reached the final on two occasions, in 1977 and 1984, but they have lost on both occasions. Aston Villa were first to oust the Toffees in the showpiece, while they were beaten by Liverpool in an all-Merseyside final 32 years ago. There is, of course, a chance that this season could throw up a repeat of that final.

In contrast, Man City have lifted the League Cup three times, in 1970, 1976 and 2014, the latter of which came with Pellegrini at the helm. They won 2-1 in both other finals, against West Brom and Newcastle respectively, while in their last semi-final appearance that slaughtered West Ham United 9-0 on aggregate on their way to winning the trophy in Pellegrini's debut season at the helm.

In their one meeting so far this season, Man City came out on top here at Goodison with a 2-0 win courtesy of goals from Kolarov and Nasri, neither of whom start tonight. These two sides will actually face each other three times in January alone, with a Premier League clash sandwiched between this two-legged semi-final.

KICKOFF: Here we go then! Everton get us underway at Goodison as they look to take a step closer to a first major trophy since the 1995 FA Cup.

Man City have an early chance to put Everton under a bit of pressure here having won a free kick midway inside the hosts' half...

De Bruyne tries to float it in towards the back post, but Funes Mori is there to glance it behind for a corner, which comes to nothing,

City have started this match on top, seeing plenty of ball inside the Everton half in these opening exchanges. Joel has not yet been tested, but the hosts won't be happy with how quickly Manuel Pellegrini's side have settled here.

For one moment it looks as though Aguero is clean through the middle having been left unmarked by both centre-backs. Stones and Funes Mori does not seem particularly sure that they have timed the offside trap right, but they are saved by the flag.

City have enjoyed 64% possession in the opening 10 minutes here, which is a sign of how quickly they have got into their stride. Everton are struggling to get any sort of rhythm going.

Everton have their first hint of an attacking threat as Barry lofts the ball up to Lukaku, who nods it down to Barkley. Barkley takes a touch and gets a kick on his foot while doing so, which is causing some concern for the midfielder. He will require treatment here.

After a fairly long bit of treatment Barkley gingerly walks off the field, but it looks as though he will be able to continue. It looked fairly innocuous in truth, but whatever happened, Barkley certainly felt it.

Barkley does indeed return to the fray, and he appears to be moving freely again now, which suggests that it was just an impact injury.

Almost a chance for City as De Bruyne drifts inside and picks the ball up before playing it out to Silva. The Spaniard tries to knock it back inside, but it is behind his target and Everton just about scramble it away.

De Bruyne has looked the most threatening of the lot so far, but this is ambitious even for him. He lets fly from a long way out, but the ball flies high and wide of the target.

Everton have got a little bit of joy when targeting the aerial presence of Lukaku so far. He has done a couple of good pieces of link-up play so far, although neither of them has resulted in a shot on goal for Everton.

After City dominated the ball in the opening 10 minutes, Everton have enjoyed more than 60% of it in the last 10. They have now settled into the game themselves and it is a pretty even contest at the moment.

CHANCE! The first hint of a chance for City arrives from a set piece as Otamendi climbs highest to meet a corner, but he gets too much on his header and steers it wide of the near post.

Good spell of possession and pressure from Everton as they up the tempo, with Lukaku heavily involved. The ball is eventually worked out to Deulofeu on the right, but his cross is poor and straight into the side-netting.

Still not much to shout about in terms of chances, but the tempo of the game has improved a little over the last 10 minutes or so. The two sides are cancelling each other out right now, though.

Aguero gets a minor sight of goal as he picks up the second ball from a corner just outside the area, but he flashes a snap shot well off target.

Everton are nearly in as Deulofeu slides a pass through to Lukaku, who takes a touch and tries to cut inside onto his stronger left foot. Otamendi gets across and makes a very important challenge, though.

It's City's turn to spend a spell on top now as they have some good possession inside the Everton half, although that comes to an end when Silva slices an effort well wide from range.

Chance for Everton to put the ball in the box as a patient piece of possession from the hosts ends in Fernandinho fouling Barkley. Everton didn't ever really look like going anywhere there.

DISALLOWED GOAL! The fans finally have something to shout about, but the goal is quickly ruled out for offside. Baines lofts the free kick towards the back post which Barry nods back into Stones for a relatively simple finish. However, the flag is correctly raised against Barry, and the celebrations are cut short.

Good idea from Besic as he drives forward and almost slides a good pass inside the full-back, but he just puts too much on it and it runs through for a goal kick.

Almost a chance for Man City this time as Silva clips a perfectly-weighted pass over the defence for Aguero, who manages to control it and turn it back into the box despite running out of space. Stones is well placed to nod the cross back to his own keeper, though.

DISALLOWED GOAL! Everton have the ball in the back of the net again, but once again the linesman's flag is correctly raised. Deulofeu cuts in from the right and leads the City defence a merry dance before sliding a pass through to Lukaku, who had gone to early and was offside. The Belgian still finished it, but he knew he was off.

CHANCES! By far the clearest chances of the match so far fall the way of City in quick succession! Barkley gives the ball away and the visitors are straight on the front foot looking to attack. Aguero eventually picks it up on the left side of the area and manages to get a powerful shot away that Joel needs to save. The ball comes back to Aguero, but his second attempt is blocked by Funes Mori when it looked like heading for the bottom corner.

SHOT! City have another crack at goal from range as Fernandinho is afford space, but he drags his low effort comfortably wide.

There will be two minutes of added time at the end of this first half.

Everton take the lead right at the end of the first half, and this time it does count! A corner goes all the way through to Barkley on the edge of the box, and he drills a powerful effort towards the corner that Caballero does well to stop. However, he can't push the ball to safety and it drops at the feet of Funes Mori, who sweeps home the rebound in a box of statuesque City defenders.

The first half comes to an end at Goodison Park, and it is Everton who are celebrating at the break having taken the lead with the last significant action of the half. In truth, they would have been the happier of the two sides even without that goal as they have just about edged the game so far, albeit without creating many chances.

The goal came from an unlikely source as Ramiro Funes Mori got his second goal in an Everton shirt. It stemmed from a corner as the delivery went all the way through to Barkley on the edge of the box and the youngster powered a fine strike towards goal. Caballero made a decent save, but couldn't push it far enough away from Funes Mori, who was left with a simple finish to sweep it home.

In truth, there weren't many highlights before that, although Man City had threatened the opening goal in the closing stages of the half too. Barkley gave the ball and Silva was quick to take advantage, sliding a pass to Aguero on the left. He bundled his way past Stones before hitting a first-time effort that Joel had to save. Baines's attempted clearance fell straight back to Aguero, whose second effort was blocked by Funes Mori.

Everton did have the ball in the back of the net twice before the one that finally counted, but both were correctly disallowed. The first came when Barry nodded the ball back into the path of Stones, who swept it home, only to see his celebrations cut short by a flag against Barry. Lukaku also beat Caballero having been found by a reverse pass from Deulofeu, but the Belgian knew he was offside before he slid it underneath the keeper.

Aside from that, it has been pretty poor long-range efforts and an Otamendi header that went wide. Man City started the game well and it was more or less one-way traffic in the opening 10 minutes, but since then Everton have been the better side. Good chances have been very few and far between for both teams, though.

KICKOFF: City get us back underway for the second half here, and the visitors have made a change at the break, with Martin Demichelis replacing Mangala.

EVERTON SUB: Everton have also made a change at the break, incidentally, with Leon Osman coming on in place of Cleverley.

Lukaku is again a little frustrated at Deulofeu here for delaying a cross, causing the linesman to raise his flag against the Belgian once again. City's defence do deserve credit for stepping up as one there, though.

It's been a bright start to the half from Everton, who have picked up right where they left off in the first. Deulofeu almost picks Osman out at the far post before, moments later, Lukaku is inches from turning a low cross in, although the flag is once again up against the striker.

YELLOW CARD! Delph becomes the first player in the book this evening, with Bobby Madeley going back to the midfielder at a break in play for an earlier challenge on Besic.

SAVE! He's not known as a goalscorer, but Besic looks to give his side a cushion with a crack from range, but Caballero is down to make a fairly routine stop.

MAN CITY SUBS: Pellegrini makes a second change already, bringing on Jesus Navas in place of Delph.

Bright play from Barkley, who is urged to shoot from the fans but turns the opportunity down. Instead he goes past a lazy sliding challenge from Toure, which looked more like he just didn't want to chase Barkley, before the Everton man slides it through the legs of the defender to get into the box. Caballero is quickly off his line to smother the ball, though.

SAVE! Everton threaten again as Deulofeu gets past one man on the right side but is forced to cut back on himself by Otamendi. He gets his cross away and miscues it towards goal, forcing Caballero to panic a little and flap it away.

Everton are still looking the more likely to get the game's second goal here, and Martinez may feel a little disappointed if things stay like this. They would take a lead to the Etihad, but one goal may not be enough and their performance probably deserves more.

Everton have done a good job of limiting Aguero's influence in that game, but they can't afford to relax at all. The Argentine was quiet against Watford form much of the match too, but then popped up with the late winner.

CHANCE! Speak of the devil, Aguero has a great chance to level things up, but he gets it all wrong. Baines is outnumbered out wide as the ball is fed low into the box, with Silva just getting a foot to it to knock it back to Aguero. The Argentine rolls it onto his left foot, but then slices it badly off target when you'd expect him to score.

CHANCE! Another chance for City here, and again it stems from the right. A cross arrives following a short corner from that side and Fernandinho attacks it well, beating Coleman in the air. However, he can't get enough power on it as he steers it straight at the keeper.

CHANCE! Big chance at the other end for Everton! Barkley hounds down Otamendi and wins the ball off the defender to take him into a great position. He has Lukaku arriving as support in the middle but instead goes for goal himself from a tight angle, allowing Caballero to make the save.

City are beginning to build a bit of momentum here, which will be a concern for Martinez. A draw wouldn't do them many favours considering City's recent home form, so it is vital that they hold firm against this pressure now.

SAVE! As has been the case all season, though, Everton clearly feel that attack is the best form of defence. They come forward again and Barkley drills a low strike towards goal that Caballero gathers with minimum fuss.

EVERTON SUB: Another Everton sub here as Kevin Mirallas, who has been linked with a move away from the club in the past few days, is replaced by Deulofeu.

SAVE! This is end-to-end stuff right now. City are denied a penalty at one end before Barkley's storming run is finally stopped by Sagna at the other. Man City get straight back onto the attack and Aguero links up beautifully with De Bruyne, but the Belgian's curling low effort is brilliantly tipped wide by Joel.

City have a shooting chance from a free kick following a Besic foul, but it is an anticlimax as De Bruyne's effort goes straight into the wall.

More pressure arrives from Everton, with Coleman and Mirallas at the heart of it down the right. The ball eventually breaks for Baines, but his effort takes a deflection and floats a yard or so past the post for a corner.

City level things up with less than 15 minutes to go in the first leg! It is a ruthless piece of counter-attacking from the visitors as Fernandinho's long ball forward finds Aguero, who takes it down brilliantly. He has De Bruyne on his right, but Aguero bides his time and waits for Navas to get up in support on the left. His pass when that time arrives is perfect, and Navas slides his effort past Joel into the bottom corner.

What a response from Everton! They regain the lead just two minutes after City had restored parity, and it is yet another goal for Lukaku. Barry swings a beauty of a cross into the middle for Lukaku, who has escaped the attentions of Demichelis and is left with a relatively simple header home for a player of his quality.

Lukaku had seemed to have picked up an injury just before that goal, and he was clearly in pain during the celebrations too. However, after a bit of treatment he is now back on the field and it looks as though he will continue.

This is a waste from Navas as he picks the ball up on the right side of the area, only to blaze an ambitious effort well off target.

EVERTON SUB: Lukaku will not be able to continue after all. He limps off to be replaced by Arouna Kone. Everton will be praying that that is not too serious.

This is an interesting situation for City at the moment. Of course, losing a match is never a good thing, but 2-1 would not be the worst result here, and a goal conceded now could be more damaging than scoring a goal would be profitable. It is a tricky balance for them to strike.

Everton are pushing for a third, and they need to strike a balance as well. Besic gets forward again and goes for goal from range, but his effort deflects into the arms of Caballero.

Everton will have to see out this game with 10 men now. Coleman trudges off the field with an injury, but Martinez has already made all three of his subs.

There will be four more minutes for the 10-man Toffees to hold out here.

MAN CITY SUB: Man City make their final change of the game, and it is an interesting one as Fernando replaces De Bruyne, while Sterling and Iheanacho remain on the bench.

The 10 men of Everton hold out, rather comfortably in the end as City never really went all-out attack in the closing stages. They seem relatively content with a 2-1 defeat, which isn't the worst scoreline but still leaves them with work to do in the second leg later this month. For Everton, they will know that a big test still awaits them at the Etihad, but they have at least made the most of their home advantage.

Everton took the lead through Ramiro Funes Mori in the dying embers of the first half when the defender swept home a rebound after Barkley's effort had been saved. City levelled things up in the 76th minute through Jesus Navas's goal on the break, but that lasted just two minutes before Lukaku nodded the Toffees back in front with what proved to be the winning goal.

That is all we have time for this evening! Thank you very much for joining Sports Mole for tonight's match as Everton draw first blood in the two-legged tie with Manchester City. Could a League Cup final Merseyside derby be on the cards? We will know for sure after the second legs in three weeks' time, but for now I will leave you with our match report for tonight's game, and be sure to stick around for reaction from both camps. From me, though, it is goodbye for now!