After Wayne Rooney made the perfect Premier League start for Everton on return, Gylfi Sigurdsson will look to do the same when the Toffees travel to the Etihad to face off against the formidable Manchester City on Monday.
Rooney was the match-winner for Everton in his first game in the Premier League for his boyhood club since making a long-awaited return from Manchester United.
Having already made several marquee signings, Everton manager Ronald Koeman added one more by completing a £45 million move for Sigurdsson from Swansea City. It was a transfer that had been rumbling on all summer, and with it being finally done, Koeman can now contemplate on whether the Iceland international is fit enough to be involved against Manchester City.
"He will train and will do tests," Koeman said on Friday when asked about Sigurdsson's availability. "I'm not worried about his fitness. Of course, as a player you need game-time and need to play games in pre-season to get to 100 per cent. But his fitness is okay and he is a good professional.
"He will get time next week. We have a tough week coming up and he will be part of all the games next week."
Sigurdsson is likely to start the game on the bench, because the player himself doesn't believe he is quite ready for the full 90 minutes, having hardly featured in pre-season for Swansea, as he waited to complete his move to Everton.
"I've been training well over the last five or six weeks since I came back off holiday in early July," the 27-year-old said. I've been training really well but I just need a few more minutes under my belt before I play 90 minutes."
When Sigurdsson does become a fixture, it will be interesting to see where he plays, because his preferred position is the No.10 role, something you would assume Rooney also prefers.
Everton will be without Yannick Bolasie, Ross Barkley, James McCarthy, Seamus Coleman and Ramiro Funes Mori, but Sandro Ramirez, who missed the Europa League game on Thursday with a heel issue, could return to the lineup.
For Manchester City, Ilkay Gundogan could make a comeback from a serious knee injury after returning to full training. Fabian Delph and Benjamin Mendy are expected to miss out, while Samir Nasri is definitely ruled out with a neck problem.
Pep Guardiola is likely to stick with the same attacking lineup that beat Brighton and Hove Albion last weekend, which means the likes of Raheem Sterling, Leroy Sane, Bernardo Silva and Yaya Toure all staying on the bench.
Expected playing XI:
Manchester City: Ederson; Otamendi, Kompany, Stones; Walker, Fernandinho, Danilo; David Silva, De Bruyne; Jesus, Aguero.
Everton: Pickford; Martina, Keane, Williams, Baines; Davies, Gueye, Schneiderlin; Klaasen, Rooney; Sandro.
