Roberto Martinez insists Man City will be in for their toughest trip of the season[EPA]Everton are aware that stalling City's momentum tomorrow would hand the initiative back to neighbours Liverpool in the title race, but insists their own values will not be compromised on account of local rivalry.
Victory would keep the pressure on fourth-placed Arsenal in the chase for the final Champions League berth, while Everton also require a point to guarantee Europa League football next season.
And Martinez said the inference his players would effectively down tools to undermine Liverpool's hopes was an insult.
"There is not even a question mark about us," said the Everton manager. "For us it means everything to win this game in terms of the overall season.
"Fans have been saying, 'Don't worry about the weekend - if we win, great; if we lose, it's not a problem'. But I see that only as a bit of banter. I don't think anyone at Everton would want their team to lose.
"I can understand the banter between the fans, but Liverpool can be assured that Goodison will be the toughest place for Man City to travel this season. That is for sure.
Martinez recalled how Tony Pulis was desperate to win a dead-rubber for his side at Stoke [GETTY]"We need to get the six points, that's vital for us. I don't see it as a serious accusation. It is more football rivalry. I would be hurt or insulted if we had nothing to play for but even then our professionalism would not be in doubt.
"We have got so much to play for. It would be a major ending to the season if we were to finish with 75 points. Whatever people might say on the outside, I don't take it seriously. We have got too much to fight for."
Each Premier League place is worth £1.2m, but Martinez said monetary concerns were not the over-riding motivation for his players.
Instead, he said upholding the virtues of the English game were at stake and highlighted examples where the same situation would not arise in his native Spain.
"My debut with Zaragoza was against Atletico Madrid in 1993," he said. "It was the last game of the season. Real Madrid were playing away at Tenerife and had to win to win the league and in order for Atletico Madrid to get into Europe automatically.
"Real Madrid were losing and the Atletico crowd was going crazy, even though that meant they were not guaranteed Europe. I couldn't figure that one out.
"The line they used after the game was, 'We would rather lose one eye as long as the neighbours lose two'."
Martinez's men could hand bitter rivals Liverpool an advantage in the title race [REUTERS]Atletico ultimately qualified for a UEFA Cup play-off against Sevilla, winning over two legs, and Martinez added: "In Spain it doesn't matter if you finish second or third, sixth or seventh. Then it becomes a question of, 'What do we want to happen?' and a question of pride and ego.
"At Wigan, we beat West Ham and had to go to the last game at Stoke in 2011 and win to stay up. Stoke had not lost at home in that calendar year. I thought they might be half-hearted about it but they were just going mad. Tony Pulis wanted to finish top 10.
"I'd never seen anything like it. That is the British game and I love that. We should never lose that.
"But if you look at the history of Spanish football, it's different. One year Betis were playing Oviedo at home and Sevilla needed Betis, their local rivals, to win in order for Oviedo to go down and for Sevilla to stay up. Betis let themselves lose and Sevilla went down.
"They were very clear about it too, the whole crowd was clapping the Oviedo goals and everything. We are completely different here. You would never see it here."
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