After back to back defeats in the Premier League, Everton will hope to bounce back when they take on Manchester United at Goodison Park.
The Toffees were top of the table for a few weeks, but indifferent results in recent weeks coupled with some unfortunate injuries and suspensions haven’t helped their cause. They will be up against a side in Manchester United who themselves have major worries ahead of the fixture.
The Reds Devils were lacklustre against Arsenal in their previous league game, and were defensively all over the place on Wednesday when they were beaten 2-1 by Istanbul Basaksehir in the Champions League.
The pressure is certainly on manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, and Everton, who have had a good week’s rest, will look to add heap more misery on the Norwegian.
Everton Team News
Richarlison is still unavailable as he will serve the last of his three-match ban for his challenge on Liverpool’s Thiago a few weeks ago. Seamus Coleman, Andre Gomes, Ben Godfrey and James Rodriguez are all injury doubts, but some of them could yet feature if they pass late fitness tests.
Lucas Digne’s return will be a massive boost at left-back as he offers the team so much going forward and is solid at the back.
Jean-Philippe Gbamin and Mason Holgate are long-term absentees and remain unavailable.
Predicted Everton Lineup vs Manchester United
Goalkeeper
Robin Olsen was handed an opportunity against Newcastle United, but Ancelotti revealed that Jordan Pickford will be back in the Everton lineup against Manchester United.
Defence
Michael Keane and Yerry Mina should start as the two-centre-backs, while Lucas Digne and Jonjoe Kenny are expected to feature as the full-backs. Coleman could start if he is passed fit, and remains a doubt at the moment.
Everton’s defence will have to be wary of the threat Manchester United provide, and it’s likely that the Red Devils will sit back and try to play on the break once again.
Midfield
Predicted Everton Lineup vs Manchester United
A solid and tenacious midfield has contributed a lot to Everton’s success this season, and the trio of Allan, Abdoulaye Doucoure, and Fabian Delph could start in a three-man midfield in the Everton lineup come Saturday.
Allan, in particular, has been impressive, making more tackles than any other player in the Premier League this season. He only signed in the summer!
And with Gomes a doubt, Delph will be expected to put in a big performance against Manchester United.
Attack
Ancelotti will hope Rodriguez will be back in time for the clash, as the Colombian’s addition in the Everton lineup makes them a lot more potent unit going forward.
Dominic Calvert-Lewin has been in brilliant touch this season, and he will look get on the score-sheet and keep his place at the top of the Premier League golden boot race for the season. And finally, with Richarlison unavailable, Alex Iwobi could again feature on the left flank.
