Saturday’s game may be the beginning of the end for Manchester City’s injury problems this winter.

Vincent Kompany is hopefully fit to start the game against Everton which would presumably see him paired up with Eliaquim Mangala.

Manchester City were boosted this week by the news that strikers Sergio Aguero and Edin Dzeko have resumed training, and so could potentially be back ahead of the tentative 18th January return dates previously set out.

Manuel Pellegrini could err on the side of caution with players returning from injury.

Of course City manager Manuel Pellegrini could err on the side of caution with players returning from injury. Martin Demichelis is still a good replacement for Kompany, and allowing the Belgian captain to ease back into the team slowly could pay dividends towards the end of the season.

City have a full complement of fullbacks to choose from, so you would expect to see Clichy and Zabaleta starting. This is reassuring as it means Sagna is kept at arm’s length from the first team, his recent performances being underwhelming at the very least.

The trip to Goodison Park will mark the first of quite a few matches Yaya Toure will miss due to his involvement in the African Cup of Nations. This will presumably see a midfield pairing of Fernandinho and Fernando doing most of the work in the center of the park.

Attacking wise, Pellegrini may well stick with playing Jovetic up front, with a supporting trio made up of Samir Nasri, David Silva and Jesus Navas. Surely the creative and attacking drive of this 4-2-3-1 formation will prove more than enough for an Everton defense that has looked shaky at the best of times this season.

Everton are also a side looking pretty decimated by injuries.

Romelu Lukaku is the obvious danger man for Everton, with his ability to turn his marker a worry for the often rash Eliaquim Mangala. Kevin Mirallas is often overlooked for Everton as well, although he hasn’t had his best season so far. If he is on form, he and Lukaku could cause the Manchester City backline problems.

Everton not only have underperformed this season, but they are also a side looking pretty decimated by injuries. They will have potentially 8 players out injured on Saturday, including Distin, Piennar, and Tim Howard. Full back Leighton Baines is carrying a knock too.

The signs look good for City in this one, and there is the potential for an Edin Dzeko cameo towards the end of the game, although you would hope he won’t be brought on needing to chase the game.