Everton Represent the Biggest Test of Manchester United's Progress Thus Far

Manchester United have endured a testing start to their Premier League campaign thus far, with both injuries and tactical changes hampering the club's quest for a top-four finish. With this in mind, however, it is fair to say in terms of the on-paper quality of the teams they have faced so far, United have yet to be truly tested.

Defeats against Swansea City and Leicester City were both disappointing but were more a visual representation of issues with a 3-5-2 system and a lack of defensive leadership respectively. In other words, had the scenario been different, you are unlikely to have seen the result repeat itself on another day, given the superior talents United have in their squad in comparison to both Swansea and Leicester.

Therefore, the visit of Everton on Sunday will be the first real test of United's progress; United will be facing a cohesive team that possess significant individual quality and did the double over Manchester United last term.

The match with Everton will be used as a measuring stick of United's progression from last season. Everton will be a team in and around the fight for fourth place—although their Europa League exploits may come back to bite them in the final stretch—and United will, for the first time under Louis van Gaal, be testing themselves against a team expected to be around them come the end of the season.

The victories against Queens Park Rangers and West Ham United, while pleasing, didn't represent a true sign of progression for Manchester United. Of course, it is easy for anybody to see the vast contrasts in the attacking side of United's football this season as opposed to last. However, defensively, QPR and West Ham were both rather poor, and the likes of Angel Di Maria, Wayne Rooney and Robin van Persie should be excelling against such teams.

Everton are a different proposition entirely. The club has kept the foundations of a solid defensive structure left by David Moyes and added continental flair in the key areas of the pitch through manager Roberto Martinez.

John Stones, a Moyes signing, has looked every bit the outstanding talent Phil Jones did during his first appearances in the Premier League, and the former Barnsley man has kept the Everton back four ticking over in the absence of Sylvain Distin, but he will face a different kind of test in the forms of Radamel Falcao and Van Persie.

Given the organised nature of Everton's defence, United's attack will have to work to break them down. In Di Maria, United finally have a player who is capable of taking numerous defenders on and emerging with the ball 20 or 30 yards further forward. Di Maria will need to be supported by Van Persie, Mata and Falcao, however, given Everton's double pivot of Gareth Barry and James McCarthy, players who allow the Everton back four to mark opposition forwards man for man.

The main concern for United supporters this season has been the defence, and despite 19-year-old Patrick McNair's excellent first-team debut last weekend, Van Gaal still has selection problems heading into Sunday's early kick-off, with Jonny Evans, Chris Smalling and Phil Jones all expected to miss the clash, according to Charlie Scott of the Daily Mail.

Everton have quality going forward, particularly in the wide areas, with Aiden McGeady and Kevin Mirallas the usual pairing on either flank. However, one piece of positive news for United's back four is that Mirallas will miss the match on Sunday through a hamstring injury picked up in Saturday's Merseyside derby at Anfield, as reported by the BBC.

Alongside McGeady, Romelu Lukaku is likely to start up front for Everton, and the Belgian's physical presence combined with surprising speed is something that is likely to cause problems. If you look at how United have collapsed defensively at times this season, it has been when they have faced a forward who challenges them physically—see Leonardo Ulloa and Jamie Vardy at Leicester and Diafra Sakho at West Ham.

Oddly enough, this isn't a new problem, with more physical strikers such as Didier Drogba causing United problems—even during Sir Alex Ferguson's tenure. However, the difference between then and now was a commanding presence at the heart of the defence who could see what was happening and correct it himself through a positional shuffle or a change of tact for five or 10 minutes.

Lukaku will look to target one of United's younger centre-halves—be it McNair or the returning Tyler Blackett—and try and pull him away from his position to create gaps for Steven Naismith. It is incredibly important that United don't let this happen, with serious responsibility falling on the shoulders of Marcos Rojo to organise a defence, something he did well in the final stages against West Ham with United under concentrated pressure.

James Orr of The Independent has reported that Marouane Fellaini is ready to make his Manchester United return following an injury lay off. This could come as a surprising boost for supporters, with Fellaini possibly able to fill in at centre-half.

It could be the perfect opportunity for the Belgian to resurrect his Old Trafford career; the former Everton midfielder recently told Dutch paper Sport Wereld that he plans to fight for his place in the team after remaining with the club during the summer, as reported in English by Sky Sports.

"

I talked to Van Gaal and he has never said that I had to leave.

He said I had a lot of competition, but that I will get the chance to prove myself.

I have known difficult moments like last season, but you become a stronger player afterwards. I have confidence in myself and in my game again.

"

Given the fluid look of United's midfield diamond with Daley Blind as a holding midfielder and Di Maria and Ander Herrera ahead of him, it is difficult to see a way Fellaini, given his limited skill set, will get back into that position.

However, given the weaknesses in defence, the Belgian could play there. He certainly has the necessary physical attributes to match Lukaku's strengths and would bring an element of experience to a youthful defence.

The battle in midfield is also one that United will find all the more difficult, given Herrera's injury absence, as noted by The Telegraph's Mark Ogden. Herrera has characterised the rejuvenation of United's midfield since Van Gaal employed the 4-4-2 diamond system in September.

The Spaniard has brought a tempo to United's play when in possession but also works hard to win possession back and has surprised supporters with his ability to win key midfield tackles. It will be interesting to see whether Van Gaal takes this as an opportunity to switch to his historically preferred 4-3-3 system and tries to stretch Everton in the wide areas with Di Maria and Adnan Januzaj.

Everton are a test all over the pitch. Their two full-backs, Seamus Coleman and Leighton Baines, are dangerous going forward, and their use of an overlapping run can often leave an opposing full-back defending on his own against two players. Rafael's good form on the right is encouraging ahead of a battle with Baines, though Luke Shaw, despite an impressive Premier League debut for United against West Ham, will really have to work hard to keep Coleman from influencing proceedings.

United's meeting with Everton kick-starts a run of difficult fixtures with Van Gaal's team, who will host Chelsea before travelling to Eastlands and the Emirates Stadium to face Manchester City and Arsenal respectively over the course of the next five League matches after the visit of the Toffees.

A victory against Everton would create confidence going into the tough run after the international break because it would signify improvement. The two defeats against Everton last year, while on paper a surprise, were not at all undeserved. Everton outworked United in all areas of the pitch over 180 minutes of football and United simply cannot allow the same to happen on Sunday.

A defeat would raise questions about the squad and would only serve to maximise the pressure on United heading into matches against their fiercest rivals.

For Manchester United, given the money they spent this summer, a match against Everton should represent a yardstick, a real barometer of whether United can realistically look at a top-four finish this season and not just compete but better the teams who finished above them last year.