Everton vs Manchester United

October 28, 2011
By: John Hansen

Everton finally ended the three-match losing run as they beat Fulham at Craven Cottage, but the Toffees won’t be too pleased by the fact that they will host Manchester United after the Red Devils recorded one of the worst defeats in their history. Sir Alex Ferguson will be looking for a response from his players, but there are no doubts the visitors will be under tremendous pressure at Goodison.

Back to winning ways

Being forced to operate on a very tight budget season after season, David Moyes is doing really well considering the circumstances, but his side just cannot find a way to cope with the strongest Premier League teams. The Scottish manager is still unable to address the main issue in the side, as the Toffees desperately lack a true goalscorer, which is why his decision to sell Jermaine Beckford in the summer was definitely not a good one. Having scored just ten goals in first eight games, Everton couldn’t do much better than the 13th place they are occupying at the moment, but they will have to show a massive improvement in order to stop wounded United from winning this game. After losing all four games against title contenders this season, the Toffees clearly don’t have much to hope for, especially after playing 120 minutes against Chelsea in midweek. The combination of tired legs and inferior quality is likely to prevent the hosts from getting something out of this clash.

Royston Drenthe is suspended after picking up a red card in midweek, while Johnny Heitinga is doubtful with a knee problem. Osman, Hibbert, Colemann and Howard are set to start after being rested against Chelsea.

Very important game for United

As embarrassing as it was, the derby defeat to Manchester City is unlikely to ruin Manchester United’s season as Sir Alex Ferguson’s men simply have too much experience to be destabilized by a single defeat. Not even the game at Old Trafford can change the fact that the Red Devils have been pretty impressive in most of the matches this term and I am definitely not prepared to write them off from the title race. Sir Alex Ferguson is a great motivator, mainly because he has an unbelievable authority in the United dressing room and I have no doubts United players will give their best to win this game and thus partly make amends for the City loss. With Nemanja Vidic, Darren Fletcher and Tom Cleverly slowly building up their fitness, the Red Devils are expected to continue with convincing performances and they shouldn’t have too big a task at Goodison Park, as Everton are nothing more than an average Premier League side at the moment.

Tom Cleverley, Phil Jones and Javier Hernandez are all pushing for starts, while Nemanja Vidic should keen his place in the side.

Verdict

Everton have been far from impressive of late and they don’t seem to have enough quality to stop United from winning this game. Sir Alex Ferguson will demand a response from his players and when that is the case, United usually delivers. I, therefore, see a good value in odds offered on away win.

Our prediction: Away win

Odds: 1.83 (5/6)

Bookmaker: William Hill

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