Manchester United are looking to bounce back to winning form when they travel to Goodison Park to face Everton on Saturday. Ole-Gunnar Solskjaer is once again under heavy scrutiny following two back to back defeats to Arsenal and Istanbul Basaksehir. The Red Devils have appeared incredibly inconsistent, so grabbing all three points could be a priority.
Everton, meanwhile, are also on a spot of bother at the moment. Their bright start to the campaign has been marred by a disappointing run of form that has led to defeats over Newcastle United and Southampton in their last two matches. They are also winless in their last three matches, with Carlo Ancelotti desperate for an upturn of fortunes.
Everton Vs Manchester United Tactical Preview
Talking Tactics
Everton
Everton are likely to persist with the 4-3-3 formation, with Gylfi Sigurdsson operating in the advanced midfield role ahead of Andre Gomes, who is suffering from a knock. Richarlison’s absence means the Toffees are lacking extra firepower, so it won’t be surprising to see the home side taking a more wing oriented approach with players like Alex Iwobi and Lucas Digne providing crosses from the wider areas of the pitch.
Manchester United
Solskjaer’s team has lacked creativity and has appeared too static during possession phases. They need to fix that, especially against an Everton side who have recorded a high number of ball recoveries in midfield thanks to players like Allan and Abdoulaye Doucoure. A 4-3-1-2 is still likely, with the away side hoping that the return of Fred could provide some boost in the middle of the park.
Team News
Everton
Richarlison, as mentioned earlier, is serving a suspension, while Jean-Philippe Gbamin and Mason Holgate remain out injured. Ben Godfrey, James Rodriguez and Seamus Coleman, meanwhile, are all doubts heading into this game, though we only expect the latter to be unavailable.
Probable Lineup (4-3-3): Pickford; Kenny, Keane, Mina, Digne; Doucoure, Allan, Sigurdsson; James, Calvert-Lewin, Iwobi.
Manchester United
Solksjaer will be boosted by the return of Anthony Martial, who has served his three-game suspension. Unfortunately, doubts are lingering over the fitness of Victor Lindelof while Phil Jones and Eric Bailly remain injured. So we might see Axel Tuanzebe getting the nod at centre-back, alongside club captain Harry Maguire.
Probable Lineup (4-3-1-2): de Gea; Wan-Bissaka, Tuanzebe, Maguire, Shaw; Fred, McTominay, Pogba; Fernandes; Greenwood, Rashford.
Key Men
Everton
With key players like Richarlison, Gomes and James facing either suspension or fitness problems heading into this game, the onus will be on Dominic Calvert-Lewin to provide the good going forward. Having already netted eight goals in seven matches, Calvert-Lewin, with his physicality and work-ethic, is the ideal player to cause problems to the United backline.
Manchester United
Manchester United, on the other hand, are hoping that the in-form Fred could bring some stability in a midfield unit that has terribly underperformed over the past few matches. The Brazilian’s personal duel with Allan, in particular, is one of the things worth looking forward to in this fixture.
