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Manchester City Stands Alone - So Far
Although the new English Premier League season is still in its infancy, Manchester City looks like a team with the potential to steamroll over their competition. Through the first two weeks the new campaign the league has organized itself into four castes: the disappointing traditional powerhouses, the surging small clubs, the squads destined to compete for relegation, and City.
After dismantling fellow giant Chelsea in their second match of the season, City are clearly in a league of their very own. Superstars Sergio Aguero, Yaya Toure, and Vincent Kompany lead a squad that has already scored six goals without conceding one. Unlike the other perennial Champion's League contenders who have all seemingly limped out of the gates, City looks poised to not only strive for English glory, but challenge for European honors as well.
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Everton On The Rebound
Everton appears to be a squad that wants to forget all about their disappointing eleventh place finish in the 2014-2015 campaign. Through their first two games, the Toffees appear to be a budding offensive powerhouse.
Strikers Romelu Lukakau and Arouna Kone as well as playmaking midfielder, Ross Barkley, lead the way for an offense that is establishing itself as one of the league’s best. The aforementioned trio have rebounded nicely from the lackluster offensive output of the previous campaign, and have already netted five goals this season.
With the leadership of goalkeeper Tim Howard back after an injury-derived poor ’14-’15 campaign, Everton is looking to be the David to the ever-growing Goliath that is Manchester City.
Fantasy Analysis
Look for Man City to change very little from last week’s lineup. Sergio Aguero looks to be in prime form and shouldn’t need any additional rest from his lengthy Copa America stint earlier this summer. Raheem Sterling looks to be a work in progress fitting into this star-studded squad, but has shown some flashes of his 49 million pound brilliance through the first two matches. Look for the young Englishman to continue to play in front of his stable guardians, Yaya Toure and Fernandinho.
Vincent Kompany has been a fantasy owners dream so far this season. While his 6.2m price tag is high for a defender, the Belgian is currently putting up striker numbers. The City skipper has 25 points through the first two games, playing every minute of both games, registering two clean sheets, and scoring a set piece goal in each matchup. If Kompany continues to be a threat on corner kicks, that 6.2m is a bargain.
Everton’s attacking trio have been a pleasant surprise to value seeking fantasy owners. Ross Barkley, costing just 6.6m, is the third-ranked midfielder in the league, behind Yaya Toure and Rihad Mahrez. Romelu Lukaku and Arouna Kone are, respectively, the first and second ranked players at the forward position. The latter, Kone, costs just 5.1m, a bargain for a player averaging eight points per game.
Match Outlook
The "Sky Blues’" incredibly impressive performances against West Brom and Chelsea make them the overwhelming favorites in this matchup. Pellegrini’s squad looks to be firing on all cylinders and one might expect the boss to take a hands-off approach for this encounter - don't fix what's not broken. While the City defense has been impregnable thus far, Everton’s dynamic trio could find success cracking the wall, even if it takes an hour, or more, of perseverance.
The Toffee’s defense, the same that looked downright sluggish against Watford, will need to be at the top of its game to contain the surging Kun Aguero. If John Stones keeps the dynamic Argentine bottled up, Jose Mourinho may just have to up that bid to 50 million pounds before the transfer deadline of the 31st.
Prediction
Everton should be up to the challenge in front of their home crowd. With their impressive trio on the attack, look for the Toffees to be the first squad to score against City in the new campaign. However, with that said, the Everton defense should have fits trying to contain City’s many scoring options. Look for Pellegrini’s elite assembly of footballers to just be too much to handle for the relatively inferior Toffee squad.
Prediction: Manchester City Win 3-1 with Sergio Aguero MOTM
