Man U vs. Everton
Venue: Old Trafford
Kick off: 4pm
Manchester United will attempt to continue their pursuit of the top four in the Premier League when they welcome an inconsistent Everton team to Old Trafford on Sunday (today).
Louis van Gaal’s side put themselves back in the Champions League race with a 1-0 win over Manchester City last time out, but they will host an Everton team that have only lost once on their travels in the league this season.
There is no question that it has been a disappointing season for Man United, but if Van Gaal can secure a top-four finish and deliver the FA Cup, there might well be grounds for the board to keep the Dutchman at the helm for the 2016-17 campaign.
April 13 will bring an FA Cup quarter-final replay against West Ham United, but Man United have two key league games before then – first welcoming Everton and then travelling to title challengers, Tottenham Hotspur, next weekend.
The derby victory over Man City kept Van Gaal’s side in sixth, but they are now just one point off the top four and in the race for a Champions League finish, which seemed unlikely earlier this year.
For all their struggles this season, the Red Devils have only been beaten twice at Old Trafford in the league and have the best defensive record on home soil – conceding just seven times in 14 matches.
Champions Chelsea have perhaps been the supreme underachievers this season, but Everton will run them close if they fail to enjoy a strong end to the campaign.
The Toffees, on paper, have one of the stronger sides in the division, but the hard facts are that they are heading for another bottom-half finish, having ended last season in 11th position.
Head coach Roberto Martinez has been widely lauded for his open and expansive style of football which he implemented at Wigan Athletic, but Everton are actually just 12 points clear of the relegation zone and 13 points off the top four. Indeed, they have only won nine times in the league this season, drawing 11 and suffering nine defeats.
Scoring goals has not been a problem having hit 51 in the league this term, but a shaky defence has conceded 41 times and they will enter the match off the back of a 2-0 home defeat to Arsenal before the international break.
At Goodison, they have really struggled this term – collecting just 16 points from 16 matches.
Only Crystal Palace and Aston Villa have managed fewer points.
Everton are also the team waiting for either Man United or West Ham in the semi-finals of the FA Cup and while a trophy would be seen as a step forward, there is no getting away from the fact that it has been another underwhelming league season.
Man United possible starting lineup: De Gea, Darmian, Smalling, Blind, Rojo, Carrick, Schneiderlin, Lingard, Mata, Martial, Rashford.
Everton possible starting lineup: Joel, Coleman, Stones, Jagielka, Baines, Besic, McCarthy, Cleverley, Barkley, Lennon, Lukaku.