Everton V Manchester United: Team News, Predicted Lineups, Live Stream, TV Info
Everton vs. Manchester United sees a rematch of one of Louis van Gaal's side's most disappointing performances of last season. Roberto Martinez's men blitzed the Red Devils in a 3-0 display of incisive counter-attacking football that brought an abrupt end to a brief run of superb United performances.
This time out, United will be looking to right the ship after a disastrous trip to the Emirates. Everton, on the other hand, will be looking to stretch an unbeaten run that goes back to 23 August, when they lost 2-0 at home to Manchester City. The intervening seven games included a famous, convincing 3-1 home win over Chelsea.
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Before the humiliation United suffered in the first 20 minutes against Arsenal, they too had been on a good run, winning four games in succession. This game would have been a test for Van Gaal's team if they had been flying—on the back of a significant loss, it is even more so.
Van Gaal, speaking at his Friday press conference, said, per David McDonnell of the Mirror:
"It’s been two weeks and it’s awful when we have such a result. It’s an awful two weeks. We also lost before the last international break, to Swansea, so these are awful weeks because you’re constantly thinking about how it happened.
You cannot manage it with your players, which is what you have to do as a manager, because they all flew out directly after the match.
"
Martinez was more upbeat, saying of the challenge of facing United, per the club's website: "It’s another sell out crowd and we are really looking forward to showing the best possible image of our football club and performing really well against a very good side."
Date: Saturday, 16 October 2015
Time: 3pm BST/10am ET
Venue: Goodison Park, Liverpool
TV Info: NBCSN (US Only)
Live Stream: NBC Sports Live Extra (US Only)
Form Lines
Everton: DWDWWD
Manchester United: LWWWWL
Team News
John Stones and Seamus Coleman will be available to return to action for the Toffeemen, according to Evertonfc.com. The website goes on to say that "longer-term absentees Leighton Baines (ankle), Tom Cleverley (leg) and Steven Pienaar (hamstring) are pencilled in to return over the next couple of weeks after stepping up their recoveries."
Van Gaal told MUTV (h/t United's website) that:
"Wayne Rooney, I think he can play and Michael Carrick can play as well. I was very pleased with Jones. Yes, of course [he is fit] because he has already played for me two times for 15 or 20 minutes. Then he plays for the England team.
When I want to select him I can select him for the line-up.
"
He might need him given that United's site also reports that Paddy McNair is injured, Marcos Rojo is "possibly not yet ready to complete a full match," and United's Twitter account quoted Van Gaal as saying Ashley Young was unavailable through injury.
Predicted Lineups
Everton will presumably reinstate Stones and Coleman in their favoured positions. The key decisions for Martinez involve the three behind Romelu Lukaku up front.
Ross Barkley seems a shoo-in for a place in the side, given he has played the joint-most minutes of any Everton player in the league this season. Arouna Kone, Steven Naismith, Kevin Mirallas, Aaron Lennon and Gerard Deulofeu are contenders for the other two berths, with Kone and Naismith having seen most action so far this campaign.
This is possibly the hardest United lineup of the season to call, barring the League Cup game against Ipswich Town.
The back four could look as it is shown above, or Daley Blind could remain in the centre with Matteo Darmian used at left-back and Antonio Valencia at right-. The Arsenal defeat saw a collective failing of midfield and defence. As always, the pairing Van Gaal selects in the centre of the park remains a slight mystery.
Perhaps the less mobile presence of Gareth Barry in the heart of Everton's midfield will mean Van Gaal opts for Michael Carrick, or perhaps he will plump for Morgan Schneiderlin to act as a destroyer, given Everton's comfort on the ball.
Memphis Depay will surely start given Ashley Young's injury, unless Van Gaal springs a surprise and plays an out-and-out 4-3-3 with Wayne Rooney on the left and Juan Mata on the right. In spite of Rooney's poor form and poor reputation in terms of turning on the style at Goodison, it remains unlikely Van Gaal will drop him.
Players to Watch
Ross Barkley has been Everton's key creative force this season. Generating an average of 2.1 key passes per league game, he tops the Toffee's league-assist table with three. He has also chipped in with a couple of goals and has been unafraid to shoot, unleashing 2.9 shots per game, on average.
Romelu Lukaku has, of course, been the key goal threat for Roberto Martinez's side, scoring five in the league so far this season, more than any United player has managed.
United's main man in terms of chance creation has been Juan Mata, who is averaging two key passes per league game. Before the Arsenal game, Mata was in superb form, having notched up three goals and three assists in the month of September.
And no look at United players to watch could be complete at the moment without mention of the official Premier League player of the month for September—Anthony Martial. He was one of very few United players to emerge with any credit from the Emirates debacle and maintained his excellent form during the international break.
Key Battle
Last season this tie was won and lost in midfield, where United entirely failed to cope with Everton's counter-attacking.
This season could see a very similar pattern of play with United likely to dominate possession, even against Martinez's normally possession-hungry side.
Thus, how well United's midfield two perform in their function as support to the back four who may be somewhat beleaguered following the Arsenal game will be crucial, as Everton's front four look to exploit any weakness in United's game.
Odds
The following are the odds for the game, at the time of writing, per Odds Shark:
Everton Win: 23/10
Draw: 241/100
Manchester United Win: 69/50
All advanced statistics per WhoScored.com.
