Good afternoon! Thank you very much for joining Sports Mole for today's late kickoff as title-chasing Manchester City host Everton at the Etihad Stadium. These two sides come into the game in contrasting form, so we should have an interesting encounter on our hands today. Let's start with a look at the hosts...

City are starting to find their best form at the perfect time, with their recent performances suggesting that they can make it a two-horse race for the title rather than just a season of Chelsea dominance. Indeed, they will have been hugely encouraged by the day's early game as Chelsea lost their unbeaten record by falling to a 2-1 defeat at the hands of Newcastle at St James' Park. That means that victory here would close the gap between the top two to just three points.

There have been one or two signs lately that Chelsea are perhaps suffering a dip in form, so for City to be approaching their best at the same time is a double bonus for Pellegrini. The champions had a number of dodgy results earlier in the campaign, but they have now won four on the bounce in all competitions and are unbeaten in their last five. Not only are they making ground in the title race, but they can still qualify in Europe despite looking dead and buried not so long ago.

Things are very much looking up for City, then, and a large reason for that is their increased goalscoring rate. Of course, the brilliant Sergio Aguero has contributed a lot in that respect, but Pellegrini will be pleased to see the goals being spread around the team a little recently, with Zabaleta, Toure, Lampard and Jovetic all getting on the scoresheet in the past week.

Only leaders Chelsea have scored more goals than City this season now, with another four coming in their last outing against Sunderland. That was an impressive victory at the Stadium of Light, particularly as Sunderland had held Chelsea to a goalless draw there in the previous match. The Black Cats took the lead too, but Aguero once again inspired his side to a comeback and they eventually ran out comfortable 4-1 winners.

They have not yet won four league games in a row this season, though, and that is what they will be aiming to do this afternoon. Their general form in the league has been good, with seven wins from the last nine, but slip-ups against the likes of QPR and Stoke need to be cut out if they are to catch Chelsea. Given the result earlier, this is a real chance for City today, and it is one that they will not want to waste.

One thing that will worry Pellegrini will be his side's home record this season. The Etihad has not been as much of a fortress this term as it has been in previous campaigns, with City already having dropped four points in front of their own fans - the same amount they dropped throughout 2013-14. In all competitions they have been beaten three times here this season, although they will look at the only Premier League defeat - a 1-0 loss to Stoke - as something of an anomaly.

One concern for Pellegrini will be his defensive depth compared to that of Chelsea. Kompany is once again absent today, which means that Mangala returns to the side from suspension, and the big-money summer signing could be seen as a potential weak spot for Everton. When you compare that with Chelsea's strength in depth, it could well be a key issue in the title race this season.

Everton have had defensive issues of their own this season, and they have contributed largely to what has been a really disappointing campaign so far for the Toffees. Only four teams had conceded more goals going into this weekend of fixtures, with Everton having shipped 22 in their 14 games. Granted, six of them did come in one match against Chelsea, but it is an area of the field where they need to improve if they are to start climbing the table.

There are no such concerns at the other end of the field, where Everton have been scoring plenty of goals throughout the season. They haven't quite been as free-scoring in recent weeks, but going into this weekend only the top two in the table - Chelsea and Man City - had found the back of the net more times than the Toffees. If they can tighten up at the back and maintain that sort of goalscoring ratio then they could well make a push for the top four after all.

It must be said that those Champions League places are looking like a rather unrealistic goal right now, though. Everton come into this match sitting in the bottom half of the table, seven points adrift of the top four. They are, in fact, closer to the relegation zone than they are to the Champions League places right now, although they will take some comfort from the fact their expected rivals for a Champions League spot have also struggled for consistency this season.

There have been murmurs of discontent around the club recently, most notably at the final whistle against Hull in midweek. The fans greeted the end of the match with boos after Everton had been held to a home draw by the struggling Tigers, and the pressure is starting to build on Martinez's shoulders. Everton aren't the sort of club to rashly sack a manager, but if the supporters continue to voice their displeasure then the board may be forced to listen sooner or later.

They have thrown away leads in their last two matches now having also been beaten by Tottenham in the game before that, and today they come up against a side that has amassed a league-high nine points from losing positions this season. Everton need to learn how to hold on to leads as their failure to do so means that they have now won just one of their last five Premier League matches, drawing three and losing one.

It is those draws that have been the main issue for Everton this season. Defeats have been relatively few and far between, with just one loss in their last 10 games in all competitions. However, they have drawn no fewer than four of those games, and the points dropped in those matches have proved costly so far this season. They are nine points worse off this season than they were at the same stage of the previous campaign, and not many people will be expecting them to improve that statistic here.

They can now put their full focus on the Premier League, though, with their passage through to the Europa League knockout stages confirmed with a win over Wolfsburg last month. They play Krasnodar on Thursday, but can afford to rest players for that game ahead of the busy festive schedule.

TEAM NEWS: Right, the teams are in for both sides, and as alluded to earlier the headline news is that Mangala returns from suspension to fill in for the injured Kompany. Aguero once again leads the line, but there is no Jovetic this time, with Milner coming in. Everton, meanwhile, start with both Lukaku and Eto'o, while Barkley drops to the bench. Full teams for both sides on the way...

MANCHESTER CITY STARTING XI: Hart; Zabaleta, Clichy, Demichelis, Mangala; Fernando, Yaya Toure, Navas, Nasri, Milner; Aguero

MANCHESTER CITY SUBS: Caballero, Pozo, Dzeko, Kolarov, Boyata, Lampard, Sagna

EVERTON STARTING XI: Howard; Baines, Distin, Jagielka, Hibbert; Coleman, Barry, Besic, Mirallas; Eto'o, Lukaku

EVERTON SUBS: Joel, McGeady, Barkley, Osman, Pienaar, Garbutt, Alcaraz

What can we make of those two teams then? Well, there is only one place to start when it comes to the hosts, and that is with the little magician that is Sergio Aguero. The Argentine is arguably the best player in the Premier League right now, and he will be looking to keep up his remarkable recent form today. He has scored 19 goals in 20 games in all competitions this season, including 14 in the league, while he has directly contributed to 55% of his team's goals. Where would they be without him?

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Behind him, Silva remains sidelined while Jovetic is also out of this match with a knock, so Milner comes into the side. Pellegrini may well be considering the attacking talent of Everton's full-backs with that decision, as Milner is adept at defending against the types of runs Baines often supplies. He will be looking to Nasri and Navas to provide the creativity to allow Aguero to flourish.

Yaya Toure is once again expected to play in a deeper role alongside Fernando in midfield, with the latter replacing Fernandinho in the side today. Toure has started to show signs of getting back to his best following a slow opening to the campaign, and if he hits his stride tonight then Everton will have a tricky job stopping him.

The most notable absentee for City is Kompany, who once again misses out today due to injury. Boyata had to come in for the match against Sunderland due to Mangala's suspension, but the summer signing is back today and will be keen to prove a point after a tough start to life in the Premier League. Behind Aguero, Kompany is arguably City's most important player, so if they can get through his period of absence unscathed then that would be a massive plus for Pellegrini.

Everton may well be eyeing Mangala as a weak link, and Lukaku will fancy his chances up against this City defence. He has been a bit hit and miss this season, but these are the types of games where he can really begin to pay back his hefty price tag of around £28m If he can link up well with Eto'o then Everton could well get something out of this match.

It will be interesting to see what formation Martinez adopts today, with Coleman expected to push forward into midfield. Eto'o has generally played just behind Lukaku when the pair have played together in the past, but Martinez could go for a more traditional 4-4-2 formation this time. Barry and Besic should provide the defence with cover, while Coleman and Mirallas can get forward down the flanks.

At the back, the likes of Distin and Jagielka will have a tough 90 minutes on their hands against the in-form Aguero, and they will certainly want to avoid getting isolated or getting into a foot race with the Argentine. Behind them, Howard has received a bit of criticism lately and will be looking to bounce back this afternoon having made mistakes in both of Everton's last two games.

PREDICTION: We're 10 minutes from kickoff at the Etihad, which means that it is time for a prediction! City are in fine form at the moment and, while Everton are by no means the easiest side to face in the league, Chelsea defeat earlier makes it even more important that the hosts win here. I can't see them slipping up, so I'm going for a 3-1 victory for City.

We were in agreement on the Sports Mole sofa regarding City's chances in this match. Have a look at what we had to say in our video preview here:

City got the better of Everton last season, but in general they have struggled against the blue half of Merseyside. Last season was the first time that they had done the double over the Toffees since 1980-81, while they have only kept one clean sheet in their last 17 meetings in the Premier League.

Everton have also won five of their last 10 league matches away to Manchester City, but Martinez as a manager has a poor record against the Citizens. He has never beaten them in the Premier League and has only avoided defeat once, losing nine and drawing one of his 10 meetings. He did, however, guide Wigan to victory over City in the 2013 FA Cup final.

The players are out and almost ready to go here as City look to close the gap on Chelsea to just three points. They could well seize the initiative in the title race should they pull off a convincing victory here.

KICKOFF: Manchester City get us underway here for what is a huge match for both them and Everton. Three points would be priceless for both sides, albeit for very different reasons.

An early concern for City here as Aguero goes down clutching his knee. It looks like he over-stretched there, which could mean that it is more than just an impact injury. That would be a massive blow to the champions.

Well, the good news is that Aguero is back up on his feet, but the bad news is that he is not moving freely at all. He goes off for further treatment on the sideline, while Dzeko has been sent out to warm up.

MAN CITY SUB: The hosts are indeed forced into the change, with Aguero limped around the pitch with tears in his eyes. That suggests that it could be a serious one. Surprisingly, it is not Dzeko who comes on but instead the youngster Jose Angel Pozo.

How big could that injury be in the title race, and indeed with the Champions League must-win match in midweek? If Aguero is out for a while then it could derail the title bid. As for this match, Everton will fancy their chances a lot more against Pozo than against Aguero.

Good work from Lukaku down the left as he shrugs off the challenge of Zabaleta and then looks for support in the box. Mirallas is making a late run into the middle, but the ball doesn't reach him as Demichelis cuts it out.

YELLOW CARD! The first card of the match goes to Coleman, and he can't have many complaints having cynically tugged Clichy back.

Everton are making some good progress down the flanks at the moment. They have settled into the match fairly quickly following that early stoppage, and the injury to Aguero seems to have given them a bit of a boost.

It has been a rather disjointed start to the match, largely due to that early stoppage. City are yet to really get going in the final third.

Good work from Pozo as he collects a throw before winning a corner for his side. The young Spaniard has a huge task tonight as he looks to fill the gap left by Aguero.

YELLOW CARD! Mangala is a lucky boy here! He flies towards the front post and basically does a flying kick into the back of Eto'o, who makes the clearance. The ref shows him a yellow card, but it could easily have been red.

SHOT! Good pressure from City as they keep the ball inside the final third for a sustained period of time. They seem reluctant to hoist the ball into the box from the right and it eventually arrives out to Toure on the edge of the box, but his measured effort from the edge of the box is a few yards wide.

The word is that it was a thigh injury sustained by Aguero, which doesn't clear much up in terms of the severity. A tweak would not be too bad for City, but a tear would be devastating. Here he is leaving the field:

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First blood goes to City, with Toure converting from the spot. Jagielka is the man who concedes the penalty, bundling into Milner inside the box. Milner actually didn't appeal for the spot kick, but Andre Marriner awards it and he is probably right to do so too. Toure steps up in the absence of Aguero and fires his effort into the corner. Howard guessed the right way, but it was a fine penalty from the City midfielder.

YELLOW CARD! A second flying kick in this match! This time it comes from Fernando, who connected with Barry's head with a very high foot. He was certainly going for the ball, but it was a reckless one. He escapes with just a yellow too.

Mirallas lines up the subsequent free kick, but fires his effort straight into the wall. City fail to get it clear initially, but take advantage of Baines being unable to go for the ball due to being in an offside position, clearing the danger.

There is a rather strange feeling to this game at the moment, with Aguero's injury still seemingly lingering over both sides. City have the lead, but they haven't been at their best so far.

Good play from Toure as he uses his power to burst past a couple of challenges in the box. He can't quite make another of it, but he is certainly looking a lot more interested in this game than he has at other points this season.

Everton are yet to really trouble Hart in City's goal so far, and they will want more from the likes of Eto'o and Lukaku up front. With Mangala on a yellow they should be putting him under more pressure, but they have failed to do that so far.

SHOT! Good football from City and they knock the ball about nicely inside the final third. It eventually comes to Nasri, whose powerful effort is blocked by Distin right in front of his own keeper. It comes back at Everton, but Navas drags his effort wide of the mark.

Really good play from Milner down the left. He runs at Hibbert and manages to get a yard on the veteran full-back to fizz a dangerous cross into the box. However, Jagielka is in the right place to put it behind for a corner.

Half a chance for Mirallas to get in behind the defence here as Howard pumps a long clearance forward. Demichelis doesn't track the Everton man at all, but he can't bring it under his spell. It wasn't an easy one to control, but he could have been in had he done so.

SHOT! Superb block from Fernando to deny Mirallas! Coleman created the chance with some good work down the right, cutting back and chipping a cross into the middle. Zabaleta gets to the ball ahead of Eto'o, but his header only goes as far as Mirallas, whose powerful volley is deflected wide.

It's City's turn to come forward this time, and they play some fluid football down the right. Milner makes it to the byline in the channel and pulls the ball back towards the near post, but Distin is there to thwart Pozo.

From the resulting corner, Demichelis finds a bit of space and should do a lot better with his header. However, he just seemed to mis-time his leap and ended up getting it all wrong.

Almost a fortuitous one for City as Milner shows good skill to find Nasri inside the box. His powerful effort is block and the ball loops up and over the keeper before landing safely on the roof of the net.

Another huge worry for City here as Toure goes down holding his knee. They have already lost Aguero and Kompany and Silva are also sidelined, so that would arguably be their four most important players out if Toure is unable to continue.

Toure is going to try to continue here. He is not moving freely whatsoever, but City may look to keep him on until the break and assess him then.

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

Nasri does really well to rob Barry in possession and spark a counter attack which ends in a penalty shout as the ball drops by the side of Coleman. The referee says no handball, and the replays confirm that it is the right decision by Andre Marriner.

Andre Marriner brings the first half to an end at the Etihad, and it is Manchester City who go into the break with the lead. It has been a strange match in many respects, with neither side at their best. However, City have been the more threatening of the two sides and deserve their lead at the break.

The big talking point of the half was the penalty that led to City's goal, and it was a contentious one. Jagielka came across to tackle Milner and collided with the player without getting the ball. However, it was more of a coming together than a tackle from the Everton defender, who will feel hard done by. It was certainly a soft one, but you could see why Marriner gave it. Toure stepped up and fired his effort into the corner beyond the dive of Howard.

There was a significant incident very early in the game too as Sergio Aguero was forced off with what looks like a thigh injury. He over-stretched for a ball and was unable to continue, with the injury looking like it could potentially keep him out for a while. It would be a huge blow for City if they were to lose the Argentine, and they never really recovered from that in the first half despite going on to take the lead.

The injury resulted in a fairly lengthy stoppage early in the game, and that disrupted the rhythm of it. The atmosphere inside the stadium was a little glum following the Aguero injury, and neither set of players was doing much to improve it. We're still waiting for the game to really catch fire, and hopefully there will be a little more goalmouth action in the second half.

Mirallas has looked most likely to make something happen for Everton so far, but they have not tested City's defence anywhere near enough. They need to get at the defence more often, with Lukaku and Eto'o peripheral figures in that opening 45 minutes.

KICKOFF: Everton get us back underway at the Etihad as they look to overturn the deficit and get something out of this match.

City put Everton under immediate pressure in the opening stages of the second half, patiently probing for a way through inside the final third. Everton stand up to it, however, preventing the hosts from getting a shot away.

CHANCE! Incredible stop from Howard to deny City a second! Milner does brilliantly down the left to keep the ball in and then work space for a cross against Hibbert. His low ball into the middle finds Pozo, who must think he's scored when he fires the ball towards the near post. However, Howard reacts really well to stick out a leg while travelling in the opposite direction, denying the young striker.

YELLOW CARD! Barry goes into the book for a heavy challenge on Milner, and he can have no complaints. He'll miss Everton's next match through suspension now.

Frustration is starting to creep in now and Mirallas is fortunate not to be booked here as he lashes the ball away after the whistle having been flagged for offside. The visitors have had very little joy going forward so far.

SHOT! Eto'o looks to provide a moment of magic with a bicycle kick, but his effort loops harmlessly into the arms of the keeper. Moments later the ball breaks to Mirallas from about 25 yards, but his first-time effort is one of the worst shots you will see this season. About as far as you can get from his goal against Tottenham recently.

EVERTON SUB: Martinez makes his first change of the evening, and it is an attacking one from the visitors as Ross Barkley replaces Besic.

It's been a bit better from Everton in the last few minutes, and their fans respond by upped the noise levels at their end. They have a chance to hoist the ball into the box from a corner, but it is a poor delivery that Hart collects, relieving the pressure on his side.

The introduction of Barkley really has sparked Everton into life. The sub picks the ball up inside the City half here and slides his pass in to Mirallas, who does well to skip past a challenge in the box but then sees his subsequent shot well blocked.

MAN CITY SUB: Having come on very early in the match, Pozo makes way here to be replaced by Edin Dzeko.

CHANCE! Good chance for City as Milner again does well down the left, keeping the ball in and cutting it back to Nasri just inside the box. It is there to be hit from the Frenchman, but he hesitates and Everton regroup and crowd him out. He had to shoot first time there!

City break quickly after Barkley went down too easily, and they put the Everton defence under heavy pressure. However, the eventual shot is blocked and goes out for a corner. Everton will be happy with that as City were looking dangerous.

The City fans are unhappy with two tackles in quick succession from Everton players, both of which they feel warrant a yellow card. Andre Marriner decides that a warning will suffice on both occasions, though, as Mirallas and Lukaku escape further punishment.

Eto'o tries to provide a spark, running at the defence and making his way into the box. He is eventually crowded out, but gets a shooting opportunity again moments later. This time he goes for goal from 25 yards, but his strike is deflected behind for a corner.

Everton are awarded in a really good position as Eto'o goes down under the challenge of Toure. Eto'o has started taking a bit of the initiative now as Everton begin to push harder for the equaliser. Can they get it from this free kick?

It is Mirallas who goes for goal from the free kick, but the wall does its job and deflects the ball over the top for another corner. A bit of a tame effort from Mirallas there.

This one is fairly open now and it is City's turn to come forward. Navas finds Zabaleta on the underlapping run, but the full-back's cross is poor. He tried to swing it into the box when he would have been better served cutting it back for Toure.

Coleman goes down under the challenge on Milner right on the edge of the box, but the referee waves away his claims for a free kick. That is the wrong decision from the referee, and Coleman is letting him know! There was definite contact between Milner and Coleman there.

SHOT! Barkley picks the ball up inside the City half again and doesn't look to be going anywhere with it until Eto'o takes over and lines up a shot from 25 yards. However, he blazes his effort high and wide of the target.

MAN CITY SUB: A third and final change for the hosts as Frank Lampard replaces Jesus Navas.

CHANCE! Lampard is immediately involved as he plays a clever reverse chipped pass to Dzeko, who nods it down for Milner in the middle. The England international takes it first time on the volley, but just can't control it and blazes his effort off target.

You can sense some nerves beginning to creep in for the hosts now. The fans are watching on anxiously as Everton have improved in this second half. As things stand, remember, City would move to within three points of Chelsea.

CHANCE! Fantastic save from Hart to deny Lukaku! The two Everton strikers finally link up as Eto'o plays a clever flick to the big Belgian, who fires a hard volley towards the far corner. Hart reacts really well to get a hand to it and turn it around for a corner, much to Lukaku's disbelief.

SAVE! At the other end City break quickly and almost put the game beyond Everton. Barry gives the ball away to Nasri, who tests Hibbert's tiring legs on the outside before cutting inside onto his right foot. He works space to shoot and puts plenty behind his shot, but it is straight at Howard, who beats it away.

Good block from Jagielka as Milner plays a clever reverse pass in to Dzeko. The sub lines up his shot and strikes it powerfully, but the Everton defender got an important foot in.

This match is really open now, which may not please Pellegrini. City are looking for a killer second, but in doing so they need to ensure that they don't leave space at the back for the visitors. It is very finely balanced right now.

YELLOW CARD! Toure goes into the book retrospectively having pulled Eto'o back as the striker was racing clear.

EVERTON SUB: While Milner is down and receiving treatment for a head injury Everton make another change, with Leon Osman replacing Mirallas.

Milner is up on his feet and should be fine to continue, but it was certainly a painful one for him. He took Barry's elbow straight to the face, and the Everton man is perhaps lucky to get away with that one.

YELLOW CARD! Barkley is the latest name in the book, and this time it is for diving - not the first time the Everton youngster has been questioned in that respect this season. This one is harsh, though, it must be said.

There will be FIVE minutes of added time at the end of this match. Can Everton find a late equaliser?

Time is really running out for Everton now. They are the ones applying the late pressure, as would be expected, but they have only really fashioned one chance in the entire match so far. They can have very few complaints if they fail to get something out of this game.

City hold out for the victory and move within three points of league leaders Chelsea at the top of the table. It is a huge victory for the champions on a day where many of the big teams have dropped points, and they were forced to dig in deep to get it. Yaya Toure's penalty was enough for all three points, although there will be mixed emotions for City fans due to an early injury suffered by Sergio Aguero.

Right, that is all we have time for this evening! Thank you very much for joining Sports Mole for what was an intriguing clash between Man City and Everton at the Etihad. The hosts come away with a valuable three points that breathes new life into the Premier League title race following Chelsea's defeat earlier. I will leave you with our match report, and be sure to stick around for reaction, analysis and player ratings. From me, though, it is goodbye for now!