EPL Match Preview: Everton Vs Manchester United
Everton fans are yet to recover from Wayne Rooney’s departure from their club to move to Manchester United when he was 18.
And Rooney is certain to face abuse from them, this Saturday, when Manchester United travel to Goodison Park, for an early kick off.
And the situation will be particularly hard on Rooney given his recent troubles.
In six of the last matches between the sides, Manchester United have prevailed. Of those, two were at Goodison Park.
Given the current form of the teams, Manchester United would appear to have the edge. In three matches played so far, Everton have lost two, drawing the third. And they have scored just one goal in those three matches, while conceding three.
Contrast that with two wins and a draw for Manchester United, who have scored eight while conceding one.
Interestingly, Everton beat the Old Trafford side 3-1 the last time they met, in February, this year.
It is tempting to say that Manchester United could reverse that scoreline, this time around.
But it is likely to be a tough game, with United pulling off a 1-0 win. Even a 1-1 draw is possible, with Everton unlikely to concede easily, in front of their home fans.
Jagielka, Rooney’s teammate in the England squad is an extremely talented centre back, and has done well in the two Euro 2012 qualifiers, against Bulgaria and Switzerland. Jagielka, along with midfielder Arteta, back from a long injury lay off, represents Everton’s potential strength in the upcoming match.
In Fellaini and Cahill, Everton have attacking midfielders who can put any defence to the test.
With Saha out with an injured knee sustained in France’s Euro qualifier against Belarus, Everton may have to compromise the striker role by opting for Jermaine Beckford, in the absence of Yakubu and Anichebe, whose fitness is under a cloud, though they are back in training.
The following players appear certain to feature in the starting eleven for Sir Alex’s squad: Van der Sar, in goal, Evra, Vidic and Evans in the back line, Valencia, Fletcher and Scholes in midfield, and Rooney in attack.
Rafael, O’shea, Neville and Brown will fight it out for the fourth defender’s place, with Rafael most likely to get it.
In midfield, the Old Trafford squad can choose between Nani and Giggs, with Giggs more likely to get the nod. nani could come on as a second half substitute.
Now for the important question of who will partner Rooney at the head. The obvious choices are Berbatov and Hernandez. My vote is for Berbatov, with Hernandez replacng Rooney as sub in the last quarter hour.
To know when this match will start, click here.
About the Author (Author Profile)
Jinxatious is the Chief Editor of SportingAttitude.com
An avid writer, on an eclectic range of subjects, he brings to bear editorial experience garnered with a national newspaper in South-East Asia. He also has sportscasting experience, as a cricket commentator, and his passion for sport extends beyond Cricket, to Football, Tennis, and Olympic Sports.
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