Everton

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Everton boss Sean Dyche is uncertain if Dwight McNeil will be available for Sunday's match against Nottingham Forest.

The 25 year-old has been absent from Everton's past three matches, which have all ended in draws against Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester City. The English midfielder has three goals and three assists for the Blues so far this season.

"It is still a bit of a touch and go scenario with these games coming thick and fast so it is a maybe at the moment whether Dwight makes it," Dyche said. "We will have to wait and see."

Elsewhere in the squad, Dyche said he is also yet to make a decision on the fitness of captain Seamus Coleman and Iliman Ndiaye, who scored against Manchester City on Boxing Day.

"We have just got to make sure on Illi [Ndiaye]," Dyche said. "I took him off in the last game just for a minor tightness in his calf - we will wait to see how that settles - and Shay [Coleman] for a similar precaution, so hopefully that has settled as well."

The Toffees could make it five matches unbeaten when Forest visit Goodison Park and Dyche is eager to turn their run of draws into three points.

"I think we are in a better place than earlier in the season." he said. "I think the mentality is strong. We have had to build it and sometimes that is the best way. When you build it as a collective, it locks it in more.

"Now I have got to use that wisely to make sure we are not only able to draw games but to win games. That is the next challenge, of course."

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We asked for your thoughts after Thursday's Premier League game between Manchester City and Everton.

Here are some of your comments:

City fans

Tony: A bit of an improvement but defensively culpable for Everton's goal - Illiman Ndiaye was given so much time before he scored. He was standing in the same position for two to three minutes before he scored and nobody was picking him up. I hope we can improve at Leicester but, honestly, a draw would have been nice and a win exceptional at this moment in time!

John: The slow, methodical build-up play does not work anymore. Having the bulk of possession is pointless if you can't make it count. Playing the ball square or back allows the opposition to regroup defensively. Be more direct and have a go. Pushing the ball out to the wings isn't working either when you have nobody able to convert in the box. City have a lot to thank Erling Haaland for in recent years but he has been shocking this season. He wanders about the pitch aimlessly, hardly touches the ball, gives up too easily and his workrate is poor.

Peter: Another inept performance. Too slow in the build-up and lacking defensive stability. Rico Lewis was again at fault for the visitors goal, but Pep Guardiola still keeps selecting him. He needs to go out on loan to develop. The future looks bleak. Why is Kevin de Bruyne not playing from the start?

Sam: I'm happy with the way we played and I'm confident we'll do well or better in subsequent matches. With the way Everton played, any team would have struggled to score - they had all their players in defence! We were just unlucky, but overall we played well. Also, we cannot expect City to win the league every season.

Everton fans

Anthony: If Everton can get a 10-league-goals-a-season forward in January, they're safer than one of those boxes in a bank. They're trending upwards - a testament to courage and application. Well done.

Chris: We had our chances. I just wish Sean Dyche would use some imagination. Jordan Pickford to the rescue again. That's 17 points from 17 games - and if that ends up being 38 points from 38 games we should be playing Premier League football in our new stadium. Overall, a satisfactory performance.

Steve: In footballing terms - happy with a point away from home against City and very happy with the festive results... but we are so poor in the final third of the pitch. We just don't know what to do. Clearly all the coaching and all the tactics are based on robust defending and being set up not to lose.

Richard: We look capable of competing again and Ndiaye looked as good as anyone out there. Three great draws against quality teams so Dyche deserves a lot of credit. And us Toffees need to stop moaning!

Highlights and analysis from Boxing Day's eight Premier League fixtures.

If you missed Match of the Day, you can catch up now on BBC iPlayer.

Shamoon Hafez
BBC Sport football news reporter

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Everton had kept three straight clean sheets coming into the Manchester City game and although their backline was breached, they have now managed credible consecutive draws against Arsenal, Chelsea and here against City.

Whether their glass is half-full or half-empty at present depends on perspective.

Boss Sean Dyche will point to his side being difficult to beat, having lost only two of their past 13 top-flight matches - but on the other hand, they have won only three of their 17 games so far this season.

This draw leaves them in 15th place, edging five points clear of the relegation zone, and it came through Ndiaye's exquisite effort, which was thoroughly enjoyed by the travelling supporters.

They could have snatched it late on when Orel Mangala's deflected strike wrong-footed Stefan Ortega but the ball drifted the wrong side of the post, leaving Everton the happier side with the result but without a victory against City in their past 16 meetings.

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Sean Dyche spoke to Amazon Prime after Everton's draw against Manchester City: "I was worried about coming here today because it will change, at some point they will hurt someone, but I felt we handled it well - the underlying feeling that they will pull a result out of the bag at some point.

"Great energy from the players. We saved the penalty and Jordan [Pickford] and the analysis team deserve credit.

"Jordan made a lot of good decisions today.

"There's no easy run in the Premier League and you have to be committed to the cause for all of them [upcoming games].

"I am pleased overall with the performance and getting a point."

On transfer window: "We still have a PSR, no PSR problem but we still have the rules and regulations. It has been a tough process since I've been at the club, selling more than I buy. It has been a tough challenge."

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Everton defender Seamus Coleman spoke to BBC Sport after Thursday's draw against Manchester City: "It was always going to be tough shift coming here. They might not be in the best of form, but Manchester City have a side full of good players. Going 1-0 down wasn't easy, but we showed the spirit we had in the group at the moment.

"They have top players and an unbelievable manager. But they are going through a tough time and we felt it was opportunity today to come away with a point. In the end, we could have got the three points but we are very happy with the point."

On Iliman Ndiaye: "He is capable of lot. He is very talented and very good in the dressing room as well. He has unbelievable work ethic. He has that star quality and he's doing very well with the help of others around him. I think he can still keep improving as well.

On Everton's impressive run: "People would have looked at the fixtures and would have thought Everton have a tough December. We played Wolves at home and we won there comfortably. We then carried that togetherness through. Getting a point here may be better than the three points at home because we had to really work hard and dig in."

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Jordan Pickford saved his seventh Premier League penalty with Everton, the joint most for the club along with Tim Howard. In Premier League history, only Brad Friedel at Blackburn (10) and Jussi Jaaskelainen with Bolton (nine) have more penalty saves with one club.

Were you at the game or following from elsewhere?

Have your say on Manchester City's performance

What did you make of Everton's display?

Come back to this page on Friday to find a selection of your replies

There are eight matches in the Premier League on Thursday, and we will bring you every moment.

• Manchester City v Everton (12:30)

• Bournemouth v Crystal Palace

• Chelsea v Fulham

• Newcastle v Aston Villa

• Nottingham Forest v Tottenham

• Southampton v West Ham

• Wolves v Manchester United (17:30)

• Liverpool v Leicester (20:00)

Kick-off time 15:00 GMT unless stated

Follow all the action and reaction here

Chris Sutton is making predictions for all 380 Premier League games this season, against a variety of guests.

This week, he takes on Eats Everything, aka DJ and producer Daniel Pearce.

Sutton's prediction: 2-1

Manchester City are finding everything difficult at the moment, including creating chances and scoring goals, but I still think it is just a matter of time until they come good again - they have to.

There is so much noise around City at the moment, about what is going wrong, but this is still a game they should win.

Everton have kept clean sheets in five of their past six games, but they got thumped the last time they came to Manchester - at the start of December, when they lost 4-0 to Manchester United.

I think they will lose at Etihad Stadium too.

Eats Everything's prediction: 2-0

Everton have been drawing a lot but they have not seen much of the ball - they had less than 25% of possession against Chelsea and Arsenal - and it is going to be the same story here. Arsenal battered them really, just without scoring, and although City have been struggling I still think they will find a way through.

Read the full predictions and have your say

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Everton have won just one of their past 22 Premier League meetings with Manchester City (D5 L16), losing 12 of the past 13.

Everton are preparing to offer goalkeeper Jordan Pickford a new deal which will keep the 30-year-old at the club for the rest of his career. (TBR Football), external

Follow gossip on BBC Sport to keep up to date with the latest transfer rumours

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For me, wherever I played, I'd always see where the first game was, where the last game was, and where we were at Christmas.

There is such a big difference between being at home on Boxing Day versus being away because, depending on what your manager is like, if you've got an away game there is a chance you're training on Christmas Day.

Some of the toughest times I had was when we had away games on Boxing Day and we had to come in to train at four or five on Christmas. That's when everything is just starting at home and everyone is really enjoying themselves and you have to leave.

If you lose you are sat in the hotel having walked away from friends and family all for no points. It's not the best feeling and as a consequence you bring home some of that disappointment with you.

But, in reality, you just know it is the busiest time of the year. The floodlights are always on for the games, the conditions get that little bit tougher, you've got games it feels like every three or four days.

I think it's an exciting part of the season because you can gain real, significant momentum but ultimately it comes down to are you winning games.

I think the Christmas period itself can be tough if you have got family but in reality it always feels nicer when you get that win on Boxing Day. The atmosphere in the stadiums is a little bit different, the atmosphere among the players is a bit different.

You're very thankful to get the chance to do what you do, but if you end up losing on Boxing Day or around that spell it is rubbish because it almost feels like it was a waste of time with all the efforts you put in.

But, I get it. The fans love it, there is a lot of clamour around it. You lose track of days just like everyone else does after Christmas and before New Year but it is great to play in front of those types of crowds and it just does feel different playing during that week or two.

Nedum Onuoha was speaking to BBC Sport's Nat Hayward

Mike Richards
Fan writer

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It has been 12 months of ups and downs, with anxiety very much the order of the year.

From the ownership issues, battles with the Premier League and, at times, horrendous run of results, finding a real standout moment isn't easy.

Amid the doom and gloom, two are worth of the accolade - one on the pitch and the other off it.

It is not very often you win three games in six days, and even less so when one of those is against your most bitter of rivals.

When Dominic Calvert-Lewin rose highest against Liverpool in April to score our second goal of the Merseyside derby, I'm not sure I've heard noise like it for many a year.

It was goosebump inspiring, spine tingling and ground-shakingly loud.

A moment deserving of remembrance and will forever hold a special place, especially as we reach the dying embers of our final season at Goodison Park.

Thursday of last week has to be my off-field moment of the year.

Getting the confirmation that the Farhad Moshiri era was over and we were financially secure once again brought about a sense of relief I never thought possible.

Those who have not lived the past few years that Evertonians have will not truly understand what new ownership means for us.

Our club was close to the brink. A financial wreck. Our future looked worse than bleak.

This new hope we now have is something I feel we all deserve. It is more than earned.

Thanks to The Friedkin Group and the Fourth Grace on the banks of the Mersey, our club has the opportunity to thrive and compete once again.

Let's hope we don't blow it (again).

Find more from Mike Richards at Unholy Trinity, external

Nat Hayward
BBC Sport journalist

Everton boss Sean Dyche has been speaking to the media before Boxing Day's Premier League game at Manchester City (12:30 GMT).

Here are the key lines from his news conference:

• Ashley Young's neck injury "should settle down quite quickly" but he is suspended for Saturday anyway and Dwight McNeil is still "touch and go" though Dyche thinks "probably not for this one".

• Tim Iroegbunam and James Tarkowski are "still a little bit away" but are "getting back on the grass".

• Dyche believes last week's takeover has already impacted the feel around the club: "There was a good atmosphere before the game against Chelsea around the stadium. When things are uncertain people don't like that. The Friedkin Group have bought some stability. That is a start point."

• He clarified his comments on Profit and Sustainability Rules in relation to the January transfer window: "What I mean is there is still guidelines. It doesn't mean there is any trouble there. There are rules every club have to stay inside of. It is not specific, there is no trouble or anything like that. There just will not be endless money for every situation. There is no problem."

• Discussing whether additions are expected, Dyche said: "It is still going to be tough. The guidelines and what the club are suggesting - we will still have to be quite guarded. We can't throw money but I don't think this group will do that anyway. They want to build something. Their words are stability."

• On opponents Manchester City and their recent difficult run: "When the details are not right, things don't work even for the top teams. It's unlikely Pep [Guardiola] has had many spells like this and it happens even to the best and he is the best ever. For him to have a testing period shows how tough the game is and for the top sides to stay at the very top."

Ian Kennedy
BBC Radio Merseyside reporter

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Although draws do not propel you up the table very far, the points gained against Arsenal and Chelsea - both with clean sheets - can be viewed as excellent results.

If Everton can get something at Manchester City on 26 December, they will have navigated a particularly tough run of fixtures admirably. That said, the fixtures after Boxing Day are tough too, but that is the Premier League for you.

Defensively, Everton are sound - five clean sheets in the past six games. Clearly they need goals now, but given the quality of the opposition recently, it has been a good run.

The return of Armando Broja will be a big boost in that regard. He just needs a run in the side now and will add to the Blues' striking threat.

The Boxing Day game is fascinating. Everton will need all of that defensive solidity because, despite recent form, City are still a formidable threat - home or away.

But, with the takeover now in place too, there is a feeling of stability again, which Sean Dyche's side will hope they can feed off in the coming weeks.

Listen to Total Sport Merseyside from 18:00 on weeknights and find details here of live Everton match commentaries on BBC Radio Merseyside

Explore Everton content on BBC Sounds

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BBC Chief football writer Phil McNulty has been answering your questions on all things Premier League.

G, the Evertonian asked: Hi Phil, Gary Neville said Trent Alexander-Arnold was one of the bests crossers of a ball in Premier League history. Who would you rate as top? I think Trent Alexander-Arnold is the best with mentions to Beckham, Shearer, Baines and De Bruyne.

Phil answered: Afternoon, G: I think Alan Shearer was more of a beneficiary of crosses than a crosser himself but all the others are very worthy of mention. I'd go with Beckham and Alexander-Arnold with not much between them. In fact I'm thinking De Bruyne as well now!

You mention you are an Evertonian. I don't know if you are old enough to remember Dave Thomas in the late 70s team but he was as good as I have seen – left foot, right foot, on the run, standing start, set pieces. If you are not old enough, ask someone about him.