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Man Utd vs Everton preview: easy win?

Manchester United vs Everton preview ahead of Sunday’s afternoon kickoff at Old Trafford.

Manchester United vs Everton
Premier League 2017-18
17th September 2017, 16:00 pm BST
Old Trafford, Manchester

Manchester United Team News & Preview

We’ll be keen to return to winning ways in the Premier League this weekend after a good midweek result and an extra 48 hours rest compared to Everton who were away in Italy on Thursday.

Victory over FC Basel was never in doubt and we have every reason to feel the same heading into this weekend’s game.

Paul Pogba will miss Sunday’s match with the hamstring injury picked up in the Champions League but Jose Mourinho has been unable to confirm the length of his absence yet, though the speculation is that it could be as long as six weeks on the sidelines.

The boss has confirmed that Luke Shaw is back in contention whilst Ashley Young returned to the starting lineup on Tuesday.  Marcos Rojo and Zlatan Ibrahimovic are still a couple of months away from making their returns.

Mourinho also confirmed that Eric Bailly and Phil Jones will return to the starting lineup to face Everton after being suspended midweek.  The main question is, who will replace Paul Pogba?  I think Ander Herrera’s attacking presence and passing ability will see him get the nod ahead of Marouane Fellaini and Michael Carrick in a 4-2-3-1 formation as we look to take the game to the opposition.

Predicted Starting Lineup (4-2-3-1): David de Gea; Antonio Valencia, Phil Jones, Eric Bailly, Daley Blind; Nemanja Matic, Ander Herrera; Juan Mata, Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Marcus Rashford; Romelu Lukaku

Click here to get 20/1 on us beating Everton!

Everton Team News & Preview

It’s been a woeful week for Everton.  Last Saturday they put in arguably their worst performance under Ronald Koeman when they were hammered 3-0 at home by Tottenham Hotspur.  The scoreline could have been even greater and not been harsh on the Toffees but for Dele Alli and Moussa Sissoko missing good chances.

Everton then managed to outdo themselves by playing even worse in losing 3-0 at Atalanta in the Europa League on Thursday evening.  The Premier League side were down by that scoreline at half-time with Koeman naming a strong lineup.

This should play into our hands on Sunday as the visitors have had much less rest and a trip abroad matched by a confidence blow that they have been handed.

Seamus Coleman is a long-term absentee and Ramiro Funes Mori has also been sidelined all season in defence.  Likewise, Koeman has not had a chance to field Yannick Bolasie, Ross Barkley or James McCarthy so far this season due to injury.  He still has plenty of midfielders to pick from but few have been in form this season and Wayne Rooney has even been used out on the left.

Predicted Everton Starting Lineup (3-4-2-1): Jordan Pickford; Michael Keane, Ashley Williams, Phil Jagielka; Mason Holgate, Idrissa Gueye, Morgan Schneiderlin, Leighton Baines; Gylfi Sigurdsson, Wayne Rooney; Sandro Ramirez

Manchester United vs Everton Key Stats

7 – Everton have only mustered seven shots on target this season – the lowest in the Premier League.

33 – Everton’s 33 defeats in this fixture is their worst against any Premier League team.

75% – We have won 18 and lost just one of our last 24 Premier League games against Everton at Old Trafford.

Manchester United vs Everton Prediction

I think Jose Mourinho will want us to be ruthless again today after dropping points in our fixture at Stoke last weekend and this could be a perfect opportunity to do just that.

Romelu Lukaku may be keen to score versus his former club whilst the absence of Paul Pogba may give Henrikh Mkhitaryan more freedom and opportunities to fire shots in on goal himself.  The Armenian was a goalscorer with Borussia Dortmund and Shakhtar Donetsk.  Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial both have the ability to hurt the slow Eveton defence.

Everton have been impotent in attack this season – Sandro Ramirez is really struggling to adapt to the Premier League though it is very early days for the youngster.  Gylfi Sigurdsson is their biggest threat in my opinion because he loves scoring at Old Trafford.

The Toffees have gone three games in all competition without a goal and have conceded eight times during this run.  They are also winless in their last five games in all competitions.  An early goal for United on Sunday and I think we’ll run out comfortable winners.

Prediction: Manchester United 3-0 Everton