Man United vs. Everton
Venue: Old Trafford
Kick off: 4PM
Manchester United will be looking to record just their third home win of the 2018-19 campaign when they welcome Everton in the Premier League this afternoon.
The Red Devils are currently languishing down in 10th spot in the Premier League table and sit one point and two positions behind Everton ahead of what should be a very interesting match at Old Trafford.
Four wins, two draws and three defeats – that is United’s record after nine matches of the 2018-19 campaign, with a total of 14 points leaving them down in 10th, some nine points off table-topping Manchester City at this stage.
City, Liverpool, Chelsea, Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur are all going well in the top flight this season, and forgetting a title challenge for the moment, United have a real task on their hands to make the top four this term.
The gap is currently seven points, but could be worse at the end of this weekend.
There is no question that United showed positive signs in their clash with Chelsea last weekend, and would have collected all three points from their trip to Stamford Bridge had Ross Barkley not popped up with a late equaliser.
The 3-2 victory over Newcastle United on October 6 is United’s only win in their last seven matches in all competitions, however, and Jose Mourinho’s side will enter today’s clash with Everton off the back of a 1-0 home defeat to Juventus in the Champions League on Tuesday night.
United were strong at home last season, but have won just two of their seven games at Old Trafford in all competitions this term, and have worryingly conceded 16 Premier League goals, which is the fifth-worst record in the division at this stage of the 2018-19 campaign.
Anthony Martial has shown signs of life in recent weeks, but Romelu Lukaku is without a goal in his last eight matches at club level. A leaky defence and a struggling centre-forward is not exactly a recipe for success, and there is serious pressure on United ahead of today’s clash with Everton.
The players do seem to still be with Mourinho, however, and back-to-back wins over Everton and Bournemouth in their next two matches would lead them nicely into the hugely important games with Juventus and City towards the start of next month.
Everton however were not without their problems in the early weeks of the 2018-19 campaign, but three straight Premier League wins have left the Toffees feeling good about themselves ahead of the trip to Manchester.
United possible XI: De Gea, Young, Lindelof, Smalling, Shaw, Pogba, Matic, Mata, Lingard, Lukaku, Martial.
Everton possible XI: Pickford, Coleman, Zouma, Keane, Digne, Gueye, Gomes, Bernard, Sigurdsson, Walcott, Richarlison.