‘Injury crisis’ is a much over-used term in football today, but is one that can be accurately applied to describe the situation in which Everton find themselves at the present time and with a tricky run of fixtures imminent and a limited purse available for the January transfer window, represents the latest in a long line of challenges for the Goodison Park manager.

That’s nothing new for Moyes, who in the past has met such challenges to rally his troops for a renewed effort and, at the most crucial of times, has always been able to rely on the support of chairman Bill Kenwright and his board of directors.

I spoke last week about times such as these providing a window of opportunity for young players, but with the news that Victor Anichebe is now nursing a back problem, it really would seem that the only option remaining is to try and recruit some new faces.

The difficulty there is that goal scorers – as has always been the case – tend to be the most expensive of commodities and the one that other clubs are least willing to release.

Under the current circumstances a visit to Eastlands on Saturday is not the worst fixture Everton might have had because I have seen Manchester City on a few occasions this season. Occasionally irresistible, they can also look disjointed and lacking both balance and cohesion.

So Everton’s midfield, which won the game at Spurs the other week and which has been the strength of the team for a number of seasons now, could once again prove to be the deciding factor this weekend.

For all the publicity attracted by Robinho and his impact for City, the club’s best displays have been based on strong performances from Stephen Ireland and Shaun Wright-Phillips and, to a less well documented extent, on those of Vincent Kompany.

But if Everton can once again dominate what is a very fluid City midfield, there is no reason why they should not take something from the game.