Manchester United -v- Everton
Premier League
Old Trafford, Manchester
Saturday 9 March 2023, KO 12:30 GMT
Manchester United welcome Everton to the Theatre of Dreams in the Premier League on Saturday afternoon. Erik ten Hag will need to turn around the clubs form in the league as they have lost the last two league matches against both Fulham and Manchester City.
United will be expected to finish in the top four this season so they can participate in the UEFA Champions League next season which is something that came naturally for United under the leadership of Sir Alex Ferguson. However, they sit 11 points from fourth place!
It seems unlikely that United will achieve anything this season as injuries have taken their toll on the club again – not to mention the lack of hunger and desire at the club. United seemed to give up in the second half against City and that is unforgivable from this squad of under-performers.
United – Form, Goals Scored & Assists
City 3-1 L, Forest 1-0 W, Fulham 2-1 L, Luton 2-1 W, Villa 2-1 W, West Ham 3-0 W
Goals: 13 – Rasmus Hojlund, 8 – Scott McTominay, 7 – Bruno Fernandes, Alejandro Garnacho, 6 – Marcus Rashford, 5 – Casemiro, 2 – Diogo Dalot, Harry Maguire, Kobbie Mainoo, Anthony Martial, 1 – Antony, Christian Eriksen, Hannibal Mejbri, Victor Lindelof, Raphael Varane
Assists: 9 – Bruno Fernandes, 5 – Marcus Rashford, 3 – Diogo Dalot, Alejandro Garnacho, 2 – Casemiro, Christian Eriksen, Rasmus Hojlund, Harry Maguire, Scott McTominay, Aaron Wan-Bissaka, 1 – Antony, Jonny Evans, Omari Forson, Victor Lindelof, Anthony Martial, Lisandro Martínez, Mason Mount, Facundo Pellistri, Luke Shaw
Everton – Form, Goals Scored & Assists
West Ham 3-1 L, Brighton 1-1 D, Palace 1-1 D, City 2-0 L, Spurs 2-2 D, Fulham 0-0 D
Goals: 6 – Abdoulaye Doucouré, 4 – Beto, Dominic Calvert-Lewin, Jack Harrison, 3 – Amadou Onana, 2 – Jarrad Branthwaite, Arnaut Danjuma, James Garner, André Gomes, Dwight McNeil, Vitalii Mykolenko, James Tarkowski, 1 – Lewis Dobbin, Idrissa Gueye, Michael Keane, Ashley Young
Assists: 6 – Dwight McNeil, 3 – Jack Harrison, 3 – Beto, Dominic Calvert-Lewin, Abdoulaye Doucouré, James Garner, Nathan Patterson, 1 – Neal Maupay, Amadou Onana, James Tarkowski
Previous Meetings & Connections
United and Everton have met 63 times in the Premier League. United have won 40 times with Everton winning 10 times and the pair drawing 13 times. United have scored 116 goals, winning six penalties, scoring five. Everton have scored 60 goals, winning four penalties, scoring three.
United have kept 26 clean sheets in this fixtures with Everton keeping 10. This is a fiery clash over the years with discipline being an issue. United players have been shown 80 yellow cards and two red cards with Everton players shown 116 yellow cards and three red cards.
Mark Hughes, Andrei Kanchelskis, Phil Neville, Jesper Blomqvist, Wayne Rooney, Tim Howard, Louis Saha, Darron Gibson, Marouane Fellaini, Michael Keane, Tom Cleverley, Romelu Lukaku, Morgan Schneiderlin, Donny van de Beek, James Garner and Ashley Young have played for both clubs.
Team News
Lisandro Martinez (knee), Tyrell Malacia (knee), Aaron Wan-Bissaka (other), Mason Mount (calf), Anthony Martial (groin), Luke Shaw (thigh) and Rasmus Hojlund (other) are all ruled out due to injury, which has helped derail United’s positive start to 2024. United will have to make do.
Harry Maguire (other), Jonny Evans (knock) and Marcus Rashford (knock) are all doubts ahead of the clash with Everton at Old Trafford, but they do have 50% chances of being involved in this match. Ten Hag may need to add more youth to the squad – which is a good thing for the club.
Dele Alli (groin/hip/pelvic) and Arnaut Danjuma (ankle/foot) have both been ruled out of the clash with United at Old Trafford due to injury. Idrissa Gueye (groin/hip/pelvic) is a doubt for the clash with United but has a 50% chance of being involved at the time of writing.
Predicted United Starting XI – 4-2-3-1
Onana;
Dalot, Varane, Kambwala, Amrabat;
Casemiro, Mainoo;
Antony, Fernandes, Garnacho;
McTominay
Predicted Everton Starting XI – 4-4-1-1
Pickford;
Godfrey, Tarkowski, Branthwaite, Mykolenko;
Harrison, Onana, Garner, McNeil;
Doucoure;
Beto
Match Prediction
United need to start getting points on the board in the Premier League again. The last two matches in the league have been defeats for United against both Fulham and Manchester City and with Ten Hag’s side 11 points adrift of top four, they need to fight much harder to win now.
Everton have not won any of their last six matches, drawing four times and losing twice – so they should be there for the taking if United are interested enough to beat them – and that is the major question over the club right now – do these United players have the desire to win?
With the likes of Hojlund, Mount, Martinez, Shaw, Wan-Bissaka, Martial and Malacia all injured, United have few options at fullback and as the striker so Ten Hag will need to utilise other squad players or promote youth to the first team for this match and make do!
Manchester United 2-1 Everton
Written by Paul
