Like they did last season, Everton made a poor start to the Premier League this season, and Manchester United’s campaign has been topsy-turvy.
Everton may have beaten the drop under the guidance of Sean Dyche last season, but the performances and displays this season need to be more convincing. The Toffees lost their opening three league games of the season to stay in the bottom three.
Another drubbing at Aston Villa followed up an opening-day defeat to Fulham at Goodison Park before a second successive home defeat to Wolves. During this time, the Merseyside club were winless and without a goal after 180 minutes of competitive football in the 2023/24 season.
The season’s first goal and first win eventually came in the Carabao Cup, where they defeated Doncaster Rovers after going 1-0 down at the break. Summer arrival Beto scored the equaliser before Arnaut Danjuma fired home the winner with two minutes left to play.
Back in the Premier League, Sheffield United held them to a 2-2 draw before they lost narrowly 1-0 to Arsenal at home. Based on the two previous performances, the elusive win was only a matter of time, and it came when they travelled to Brentford. A 3-1 win over a top-10 team from last season eased some pressure on Sean Dyche. Another victory in the Carabao Cup sent them into the final 16.
While it looked like things were improving, the Toffees slipped again as they lost to Luton Town at home 2-1 before recovering to beat Bournemouth 3-0 to take their first win at home this season. In the Merseyside derby, where they have played second fiddle to Liverpool in the past decade, Everton lost 2-0 at Anfield.
Meanwhile, Erik ten Hag’s men laboured to a 1-0 win over Wolves in their season opener before a 2-0 loss at Tottenham. They needed a spirited comeback at Old Trafford to get a second win against Nottingham Forest.
After those opening games of the season, the issues became prevalent again as they were handed a 3-1 loss at Arsenal just before the international break. When the league season resumed, they lost 3-1 at home to Brighton. The Red Devils were also dealing with a significant injury crisis at the time, but many felt they should be able to cope with the players available.
Manchester United lost their UEFA Champions League opener to Bayern Munich 4-3 before securing a 1-0 win over Burnley in the Premier League to return to winning ways. They followed that up with another comfortable win over Crystal Palace in the Carabao Cup before losing to the same opposition in the Premier League a few days later.
Ten Hag’s men made two losses out of two games in the Champions League when Galatasaray beat them at Old Trafford. Midfielder Casemiro got himself sent off. In the Premier League, United secured wins over Brentford and Sheffield United on either side of the international break.
Manchester United are trying to keep moving up the log, but they need to record a win against this wounded Everton side at Merseyside. Ten Hag’s men have been mainly inconsistent, making it difficult to know what to expect from them. Everton will be playing in front of their fans, which could motivate them to aim high and get valuable three points from this contest.
Everton and Manchester United have met 62 times in the Premier League. Everton have only ten wins compared to United’s 39, while 13 games have ended in a draw.
Match tickets
The epic match at Goodison Park kicks off on Sunday, 26th November, at 5:30 PM UK time, and it will be shown live on TNT Sports, with coverage starting from around 5 PM.
This is a Premier League clash usually filled with drama in Merseyside, and Sunday will be a special evening at the 39,572-capacity stadium. Manchester United fans will be present to support their side against the side based in Liverpool.
Getting tickets for Everton vs Manchester United tickets could take a lot of work to get, given the profile of this game. Hence, you are advised to search ticket reselling sites should they be expectedly sold out on each club’s channels.
Team news
Line-ups
Things are still unclear with Dele Alli who recently suffered a setback in his recovery from injury. Andre Gomes and captain Seamus Coleman are the other players in the treatment room. Dyche hopes to field Calvert-Lwein in attack, while the impressive Garner could line up in midfield with Onana.
Everton: Pickford, Young, Tarkowski, Branthwaite, Mykolenko, Onana, Doucoure, Garner, Harrison, McNeil, Calvert-Lewin.
Manchester United have had a number of players out injured, and some do not even have return dates. Hojlund has been trying to adapt to life in Manchester but has not yielded anything significant in the Premier League yet. Meanwhile, Luke Shaw, Kobbie Mainoo, Tyrell Malacia, Amad Diallo, Tom Heaton, and Jadon Sancho are expected to be absent.
Manchester United: Onana; Dalot, Lindelof, Varane, Amrabat; Casemiro, McTominay; Fernandez, Eriksen, Rashford; Hojlund.
Prediction
Everton’s home record is not the best, and Manchester United, who have been a bit decent on the road, will aim to profit from the situation and take all three points.
As of the time of writing, Everton and Manchester United have identical records in their past five matches – three wins and two draws.
Manchester United have enjoyed relative success against Everton – winning three out of their past four meetings at Goodison Park.
Manchester United tends to struggle, but they can still go ahead to win.
Everton 0-2 Manchester United