Man Utd vs Everton – Analysis, Prediction, Team News

As part of our weekend Premier League predictions, we examine Everton’s visit to Old Trafford. Despite a slump in recent performances, United have a formidable home record – will it continue here? Read on with our Man Utd vs Everton prediction.

Man Utd vs Everton Match Preview

Everton travel to Old Trafford to face Manchester United in the early 12:30 kickoff on Saturday afternoon. The hosts secured a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Brentford at home last time out, in a match that reflected the old cliche of a game of two halves. Seemingly in control at half time having managed to navigate the Brentford press and forcing them deeper into their own territory, United were increasingly second best as the game wore on and will be thankful that on-loan German midfielder Kevin Schade was unable to convert a gilt-edged opportunity when one-on-one with David De Gea.

With one point from their previous three Premier League matches, it’s arguable that the result is what counts for a team hoping to fend off their top-four rivals, and with Spurs, Liverpool and Chelsea all failing to win in midweek it could prove to be a huge result as the weeks roll on. We mean no disrespect to Brighton and Aston Villa in particular who are in superb form, but with the games coming thick and fast between now and the end of the season we’re likely to see fatigue and squad depth play their parts in the run-in.

Everton are now unbeaten in four Premier League matches, thanks to a Michael Keane wondergoal in the 90th minute as Spurs failed to close the defender down. Despite being a man down for half an hour following Doucoure’s dismissal, Everton fully deserved their share of the points as Spurs failed to capitalise and finish the game off.
The Toffees are also unbeaten in their last two away matches following consecutive 2-2 away draws against Nottingham Forest and Chelsea respectively.

This general upturn in form sees Everton in 11th place in the form table for the last 10 Premier League matches, with their opponents here having accrued just three additional points (15-12). Six of their eight goals during that period have come in the last four matches, and there’s a real sense that Sean Dyche’s men have turned the corner despite the well-publicised issues with the club.

Team News

Injuries and Suspensions

Man Utd:

Might Not Play: Eriksen, Shaw

Will Not Play: Casemiro, Garnacho, Heaton, Van de Beek

Everton:

Might Not Play: Vinagre

Will Not Play: Calvert-Lewin, Doucoure, Townsend

Man Utd vs Everton Lineups (Predicted)

Man Utd (4-2-3-1): De Gea; Malacia, Varane, Martinez, Dalot; McTominay, Sabitzer; Rashford, Fernandes, Antony; Weghorst

Everton (4-5-1): Pickford; Godfrey, Tarkowski, Keane, Coleman; Gueye, Onana, Davies; Iwobi, McNeil, Gray

Man Utd vs Everton Analysis

A Test of United’s Creative Credentials

Earlier in the campaign following their dreadful start to the season, United were having some success at breaking down the low block through incisive passing. Lately, perhaps owing to crucial absences such as Casemiro and Eriksen in central midfield for various periods, United have been increasingly reliant upon Bruno Fernandes’ playmaking abilities and as such have looked rather one-dimensional at times and relatively easy to stifle. The fact that both Casemiro and Eriksen were picking up crucial assists was evidence of a more versatile attacking approach.

There is a suggestion in some outlets that Eriksen may start this match, but in our opinion, it’s too soon following a two-month layoff. It’s more likely that the Dane will be given perhaps 20-30 minutes to ease his passage back into first-team football. The danger for United here is that Everton can afford to sit in and trigger a press before Fernandes even receives the ball – it’s too predictable owing to United’s absences in midfield. To compensate, United will need more from their primary ball carriers in the final third, Rashford and Antony. Rashford is in fine goalscoring form of course, but United are struggling to create clear chances from midfield and therefore we may see their wide men dropping a little deeper and looking to drive from deep.

Everton Could Hurt United in Transition

While United dominated Brentford in the first half of their midweek encounter, their second-half display had much more in common with their recent poor form. Characterised by a failure to control the game, once again they found themselves badly stretched and overrun in central midfield as their opponents played through them at times. This issue was most evident recently at St James’ Park, as time and time again Newcastle’s midfielders found themselves with the ball at their feet, facing the Manchester United goal with acres of space to play in.

This is not the aggressive, compact approach to defending transitions that saw United recover from a poor start to come within touching distance of Arsenal and Manchester City at the summit of the table. The suspended Doucoure will be a big miss for Everton in this regard, but Gueye and Onana are both capable of playing directly in the middle of the park with the ball at their feet and we expect that at times Everton will be able to stretch the game and attack United in waves as has happened in United’s last few Premier League encounters.

Our Prediction

Overall, we think that United will do enough to win the game, but we don’t expect them to have it all their own way. Everton are unbeaten in four matches in a run that includes draws away to Chelsea and at home to Spurs, and they weren’t outclassed as such in either match. Everton now look like a team with a coherent game plan, and they’re starting to execute consistently in games.

On the other hand, with Everton not carrying the kind of goal threat and creativity in forward and wide areas that Liverpool, Newcastle and Brentford do, United can afford to be a little more adventurous in terms of pushing their fullbacks forward which should give them additional options in the final third and help to avoid the kind of stifling reliance they’ve placed upon Bruno Fernandes in particular in recent matches.

Man Utd 2-1 Everton

Man Utd vs Everton Betting Tip – Man Utd Odds: