Five things to look out for - Manchester City vs Everton

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City face the Toffees in Boxing Day clash

Manchester City are back in action with a huge Boxing Day fixture as they welcome Everton to the Etihad Stadium.

City have just one win in the last 12 games but have a favourable run of fixtures coming up and could kickstart their season with a win and a good performance.

The Blues could welcome Nathan Ake back to the side from injury and may start Kevin de Bruyne after the Belgian was benched in City's 2-1 loss to Aston Villa at the weekend, though they remain plagued with injuries to the likes of Ruben Dias, John Stones and Oscar Bobb.

Here are five things to look out for from City's midday clash:

A frustrating attack vs defence game

Everton have held Arsenal and Chelsea to 0-0 draws in recent weeks and will be looking to implement a similar system against Pep Guardiola's side.

Sean Dyche's side play a 4-5-1 low block packed with plenty of physical midfielders, such as Abdoulaye Doucoure and Orel Mangala.

Up front, they offer a bit of a counter attacking threat in the shape of Dominic Calvert-Lewin, flanked by Illiam N'Diaye and Dwight McNeil.

Despite this, I'd expect most of the game to be played in City's hands and for the Blues to dominate possession and create chances.

It'll make for a frustrating affair with none of City's attackers or midfielders in great form, but all it should take is one or two moments of magic to get the edge in the game.

Walker and Lewis continuing to start

Despite being massively out of form, the defensive injuries mean we'll likely see one (or probably both) of Kyle Walker and Rico Lewis start at the back.

City's captain has struggled all season and looks miles off the pace on the pitch, shown by his direct culpability for many of the goals City have conceded recently.

Lewis, meanwhile, has always been short, thin and lacking in pace for his whole career but has always coped at the top level due to his excellent positioning, good technical ability and footballing intelligence.

However, in the last few months Lewis has been found out for a lack of strength and speed, and has been consistently targeted by opposition attackers.

He has played many more minutes this year than at this stage last season, so all he really needs is a break, whilst a spell on the sidelines may also help Walker to reset.

The only solution for Guardiola is to trust Jahmai Simpson-Pusey to do a job and put Ake in from the start and hope he is fit enough to play as much of a role as is needed.

The turning point in the treble winning season was when the City boss put faith in a youngster (starting Lewis over Walker and Joao Cancelo at right back) and now he must do the same with the under 23's captain, otherwise City will struggle with the same issues as before.

An improvement from Haaland

Erling Haaland was the man to do the media duties following the disappointing Villa defeat, and he was very self critical.

The 24 year old is blunt and straight to the point. We've only ever seen this in a positive light, and this is the first time we've seen him speak when the chips are down.

"It's not good enough. It's not good enough from me," Haaland said.

"We have to continue. First I'm looking at myself. I haven't been doing things good enough, I haven't been scoring my chances. I have to do better, I haven't been good enough.

Haaland has eighteen goals in all competitions this season but has struggled to hit the target recently, with just three goals in his last 12 Premier League games.

As he said himself, he must improve, but it's undeniable that he needs help from the rest of City's attackers.

When this comes, we'll see the best of the Norwegian again, and we might well witness it against a favourite opponent of his in the Toffees.

The start of Foden's season

Foden has had a stop-start campaign so far, but his late consolation goal against Villa might get him back to the form that won him PFA Player of the Season last year.

It was the 24 year old's first goal of the season in the Premier League and probably his best performance yet too.

City need him at this moment in time to step up and carry their attack along with Haaland, if they are to make anything good of this season. The Everton game will be a good time to remind the home fans exactly how good he is when he's at his sparkling best.

City's quality making the difference

At the end of the day, it'll be whether City's biggest performers turn up with a moment of magic to win the game.

Martin Odegaard and Bukayo Saka weren't able to do it for Arsenal against Everton. Neither was Cole Palmer for Chelsea.

At City, they've got Haaland, Foden and Kevin de Bruyne.

"Kevin is so important for us, like Erling. I would say these two types of players don't help you to play good, but these two guys help you to win games." Guardiola said once about his talismen.

All City need is one perfect De Bruyne cross into Haaland, or one perfect Foden long shot or one perfect one vs one opportunity carved out for Haaland and that'll be enough to break Everton's resolve.

Depending on whether their defence can do their bit is one thing, but City's main men up front must do what those of Arsenal and Chelsea couldn't if they stand any chance of getting their season back on track.