STAR PREVIEW Sat: Everton v Manchester United

Everton’s proud, historic status as a top-flight club is hanging by a very thin thread and Manchester United will be looking to put a further dent in their survival hopes as well as boosting their own top-four ambitions at Goodison Park on Saturday afternoon.

The Toffees’ midweek fixture against fellow strugglers Burnley was undoubtedly their biggest game of the season to date and it all looked to be going to plan when two penalties from Richarlison had Frank Lampard’s men 2-1 up at half-time.

However, their old defensive frailties came back to bite them again as goals from Jay Rodriguez and Maxwel Cornet condemned Everton to a crushing and damaging defeat that leaves them staring down the barrel of relegation to the Championship.

It looks as if the Everton board will be sticking by Frank Lampard – despite eight defeats in his first 12 games at the helm – and he’s now got a hell of a job on his hands to keep the club up with a really tough run-in on the horizon.

That grueling end to the season begins with a home match against Manchester United. A win could suddenly boost the belief around Goodison Park that survival is possible but another defeat and a season in the second-tier looks all the more likely.

Everton v Manchester United
Premier League
12.30 BT Sport 1 / BT Sport Ultimate

HEAD-TO-HEAD RECORD
(Maximum 10 matches)
OCT 2021 PREMIER LEAGUE Man Utd 1-1 Everton
FEB 2021 PREMIER LEAGUE Man Utd 3-3 Everton
DEC 2020 LEAGUE CUP Everton 0-2 Man Utd
NOV 2020 PREMIER LEAGUE Everton 1-3 Man Utd
MAR 2020 PREMIER LEAGUE Everton 1-1 Man Utd
DEC 2019 PREMIER LEAGUE Man Utd 1-1 Everton
APR 2019 PREMIER LEAGUE Everton 4-0 Man Utd
OCT 2018 PREMIER LEAGUE Man Utd 2-1 Everton
JAN 2018 PREMIER LEAGUE Everton 0-2 Man Utd
SEP 2017 PREMIER LEAGUE Man Utd 4-0 Everton

Manchester United look set to appoint Ajax boss Erik Ten Hag as their new manager with reports suggesting that a deal to bring the Dutchman to Old Trafford is getting closer.

That is a deal that won’t be happening until the end of the season, though, and the Red Devils have a fight on their hands if Ten Hag is going to be taking over a Champions League club in the summer.

United sit in 7th-position in the Premier League table; five points off 4th-placed Arsenal but having played one game more than the Gunners.

This is simply a must-win if United are to have any chance whatsoever of finishing above Arsenal and Spurs and securing a place in the top-four and their chances will be boosted by the return of Cristiano Ronaldo, who missed last week’s game against Leicester through illness.

Given that both of these sides have proven themselves to be less than stable defensively this season, goals could well be on the menu here. After watching their collapse against Burnley in mid-week, it’s hard to see Everton winning this one so we’re backing Manchester United to get the three points and over 2.5 goals.

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