Manchester United have started their new Premier League season in a pretty appealing manner, as they have collected ten points from their first four league outings. Prior to their win against FC Basel in the opening game of the Champions League group stage, the Red Devils had to share points with Stoke City after their 2-2 draw at Bet365 Stadium.
Jose Mourinho’s side will turn their attention to the English top division once again as they are due to host Ronald Koeman’s Everton at the Old Trafford on Sunday and here is how we expect the Portuguese to dish out his starting line-up this weekend.
Defence
No change is expected as far as the filling the custodian’s position is concerned, as David De Gea is likely to be stationed between the stick by Mourinho. The Spaniard has already collected three clean sheets from four league outings so far and would be keen to better his credentials. Luke Shaw and Marcos Rojo are out injured.
Victor Lindelof and Chris Smalling were used against Basel, but in the upcoming league fixture, ahead of De Gea, we anticipate the central pairing of Eric Bailly and Phil Jones to be engineered into the heart of Manchester United’s defence. These two worked well together and given the attacking firepower of the Toffees, it goes without saying that they will be tested regularly.
In the right-back position, we feel that Matteo Darmian could be pencilled to showcase his industry and productivity, whereas, from the left-back position, Antonio Valencia should be getting the nod to start for the former Chelsea manager against Everton.
Midfield
Paul Pogba is expected to be out for six weeks after the French international picked up an injury during the midweek fixture, which implies that Nemanja Matic is likely to be handed the role of the central defensive midfielder. He would have to cushion the backline of his side and render the license to his teammates to chalk out offensive endeavours.
The central midfield is likely to be filled by Maroune Fellaini and Ander Herrera and it would be an excellent chance for them to showcase their mettle in the absence of Pogba. Herrera and Fellaini would have to inject their vision and creativity into the game to turn the table in favour of their employers.
Attack
The player who should be spearheading the attacking setup of the twenty-time league champions is Romelu Lukaku. The big Belgian has smashed four league goals in as many outings so far and would be aided by Marcus Rashford and Henrikh Mkhitaryan, who are expected to be used on the left-wing and right-wing, respectively. Zlatan Ibrahimovic continues to remain absent owing to his cruciate ligament injury.
This is how they might line up:
