Everton vs. Manchester City: Issues and Decisions That Will Shape EPL Game

It seems like forever since Manchester City played a match that really mattered, doesn't it?

The Sky Blues' decision to fall behind to Sheffield Wednesday in the first half of their FA Cup match last weekend added some drama to an otherwise drab affair, but you didn't really think City would lose at the Etihad to Sheffield Wednesday, did you?

And even if they did, well, it's only the FA Cup.

Serious business is afoot for City, beginning with Saturday's trip to Goodison Park to take on Everton. Dates with Arsenal and Chelsea follow before January ends. Still, City have had enough trouble with Everton at Goodison to keep this from being a trap game. Hopefully.

Here are five issues and decisions that will shape City's match with Everton.

This Is a Pretty Opportune Time to Be Facing Everton

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Howard may be indicating how many more weeks he is going to miss.

Nobody affiliated with Manchester City would suggest this, but now might be the best time to take on Everton at Goodison Park.

Toffees goalkeeper Tim Howard remains sidelined with a calf injury. As Grantland's Mike L. Goodman noted, though, facing Howard is nowhere near as difficult a task as it has been in recent years:

"Through the day after Christmas, 45 percent of all the shots on goal Howard faced ended up in the back of the net. Last year that number was only 25.8 percent, third-best in the league."

Goodman goes on to explain that Howard's troubles are linked to the subpar defenders in front of him and that those difficulties are exacerbated by Everton manager Roberto Martinez's insistence on emphasizing ball possession over, say, buying and playing decent defenders. Putting another goalkeeper in Howard's place will not fix any of that.

Besides, Everton are not scoring nearly enough goals to cover for their defense's inability to stifle quality opposition chances, which is the major reason Everton lost four straight league matches over the holiday period. The Toffees are drifting aimlessly in 13th place in the Premier League table.

Past Everton iterations have been very dangerous. This year's model seems intent on inflicting damage to itself.

City (Hopefully) Have Players Returning from Injury

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Kompany makes Pellegrini's job much easier.

Manchester City manager Manuel Pellegrini navigated the month of December and the more recent holiday-period matches with great aplomb, given the number of injured stars he had to account for.

It was a job well done, so you can therefore forgive Pellegrini if he is excited about seeing a few of his better players getting fit all at once.

"Manchester City have confirmed that Sergio Aguero and Edin Dzeko have returned to full training," wrote Chris Davie for Goal.

He continued: "City have also confirmed that Vincent Kompany is making 'good progress' as he continues to recover from a hamstring problem but have not revealed whether the defender will be fit for Saturday's fixture against Everton at Goodison Park."

Getting any of these three back in the XI would be a huge boost for City.

City Also Have One Crucial Player Leaving, Albeit Temporarily

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Toure (right) finds the green of the Ivory Coast's kit slimming.

Manchester City have a knack for finding replacements for their injured or out-of-form players, with the exception of one.

When Joe Hart struggled in goal last season, Costel Pantilimon (now at Sunderland) filled in capably. This season, Martin Demichelis has adequately filled the hole left by oft-injured Vincent Kompany.

And when City's three strikers were all hurt at the same time recently, James Milner stepped up.

Yes, City do just fine replacing just about anyone. Except, of course, for Yaya Toure—who is now off on Africa Cup of Nations duty for the Ivory Coast.

"City have wrestled with the problem of replacing Toure when he is absent—and have never truly got to grips with the problem," wrote Stuart Brennan in the Manchester Evening News recently.

Brennan suggested that City boss Manuel Pellegrini "is hoping the combination of Fernando and Fernandinho in the centre of the park, plus the match-winning capability of Frank Lampard" will account for Toure's absence this time around.

Good luck.

Will City Again Have to Resort to Dark Arts to Survive Goodison?

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Dzeko resorted to some dark arts last season to salt away a needed City victory at Goodison.

Before May's gritty 3-2 win over Everton at Goodison Park, City were basically useless there. One win in 15 tries is unacceptable, no matter the opponent.

City supporters with good memories will recall how, with that match hanging in the balance, City striker Edin Dzeko decided to bring the action to an inexplicable halt by laying down on the pitch in the 79th minute with what he claimed was a left shoulder injury.

The trainers came on with the stretcher to magnify the effect of Dzeko's dive, at which point Dzeko slowly rose while looking pained and favoring his shoulder.

The stoppage went on for a number of minutes, yet Dzeko only missed about 40 seconds of time with the ball in play.

"The sight of Edin Dzeko lying on the ground for a full four minutes, while the referee Lee Probert repeatedly told him to get up, summed up the awkwardness that spread through the team once Romelu Lukaku had made it 3-2," wrote Daniel Taylor in his match report for the Guardian.

Hey, if you ain't cheatin', you ain't tryin'.

City Must Attend to Business on the Pitch While Other Business Goes on off It

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Bony's arrival at City seems imminent.

The players presently on Manchester City's roster are the ones who will have to deal with Everton on Saturday. During the transfer window, though, it can be difficult to stay on task.

The Daily Mail's Martin Keown recently wrote about how Swansea City striker Wilfried Bony will fit in at Manchester City and the player's many strengths as though Bony is already a Sky Blue, which, at the time of writing, he is not.

Meanwhile, the circumstances of Frank Lampard's relationship to both Manchester City and New York City FC continue to be parsed over by the media. The details are not particularly flattering to the Major League Soccer expansion franchise.

"Lampard is registered as a Manchester City player until the end of the 2014-15 season. The Premier League has sought and received assurances from Manchester City that there is no agreement in place between the club or City Football Group with New York City FC relating to the player," said a league statement, per the report of the Guardian's Jamie Jackson.

NYCFC making Lampard the face of their marketing efforts may not have been the greatest idea.