Potential Manchester United XI vs Everton

As Manchester United look to bounce back from a humiliating defeat to Arsenal, Everton look to add to the woes of Louis van Gaal’s men when the Red Devils travel to Goodison Park on Saturday.

Manchester United haven’t scored a goal in the blue half of Merseyside since 2011, the week after the infamous 6-1 defeat to Manchester City.

More from Red Devil Armada

They now return to Premier League action after the international break hoping to break that streak and return to Manchester with all three points ahead of the Manchester derby. But after the defeat to Arsenal, will van Gaal make heads roll when it comes to the team selection?

One man assured of his place in the side is David De Gea. As usual, he will start in goal but this time it will come shortly after a heroic display in Spain’s colours rather than United’s. The 24 year old was in dazzling form as Spain held on to beat Ukraine 1-0 and qualify for Euro 2016 as group winners.

The defence in front of him however, could see some change.

Matteo Darmian struggled massively against Alexis Sanchez last time around but he recovered well for Italy during the international break to score his first goal for Italy and help them qualify as group winners for the Euro’s next summer. With Antonio Valencia returning from international duty in South America, it’s unlikely that he’ll start the game meaning the Italian is likely to be given a reprieve.

While Holland failed to qualify for Euro 2016 after an awful qualifying campaign, Daley Blind was one of the only players to come out of it with any positives. He established himself as a regular, playing in a variety of positions and was even handed the armband for a short period during the break.

While he’s played at centre-back in every game this season for Manchester United, many believe he is a better option at left-back while Luke Shaw and Marcos Rojo are out injured. With Phil Jones back to fitness having played 90 minutes for England against Lithuania on Monday night, moving Blind to left-back makes the most sense and will allow Smalling and Jones to rediscover their partnership from last season which saw United unbeaten when they played together.

In midfield, United have a few injury doubts. Michael Carrick and Bastian Schweinsteiger both missed both international fixtures with England and Germany with groin and adductor injuries respectively. While both are expected to be fit enough to feature, van Gaal is known for not using players that aren’t 100% ready. With that said, Michael Carrick seems the most likely to be available.

Roy Hodgson said over the weekend that Carrick missed the win over Estonia through precaution, while he was then sent home early to recover instead of travelling to Lithuania. Schweinsteiger however travelled with the German’s to Ireland before getting injured and then travelled back to Germany to take on Georgia, despite not being fit.

Alongside Carrick, Morgan Schneiderlin is expected to be recalled to the starting line-up. After missing out against Arsenal, his presence was clamoured for by many fans and van Gaal admitted that the side didn’t press as they had planned too.

With the Frenchman’s energy alongside the calming and composed presence of either Michael Carrick or Bastian Schweinsteiger, United will have all the attributes needed to control the game as well as nullifying Everton’s attack.

Further forward, the team usually picks itself.

Juan Mata on the right wing has been arguably Manchester United’s best outfield player so far this season, contributing to 45% of all Manchester United’s goals. He’ll likely be up against youngster Brendan Galloway and with Darmian overlapping him and a bit of balance behind him, he’ll be given license to create and cause havoc.

More from Manchester United News

Memphis on the other hand, is not so certain to start. The Dutch winger has started every game so far for the Reds this season and started both internationals for Holland during the break as they failed to qualify for next summer’s European Championships. In recent weeks he’s begun to look tired and has struggled to make an impact in the Premier League since his move from PSV in the summer. With Seamus Coleman among the top full-backs in the league, both defensively and offensively, Memphis’ unwillingness to track back could leave Everton with an advantage. That means Ashley Young could come back into the starting line-up to help freshen up Manchester United’s approach.

The No.10 role is Louis van Gaal’s biggest call. Wayne Rooney has occupied that position for the best part of a month now for Manchester United and is still yet to deliver this season. With the skipper picking up an ankle injury against Arsenal, he travelled to meet up with his England colleagues but didn’t feature in either game. He’s now back at Old Trafford and while he’s expected to be fit, it leaves the manager with the perfect excuse to drop him from the side.

Spaniard Ander Herrera was once again left out of the Spain squad and has trained in Manchester all week and has now fully recovered from the minor injury which saw him miss the last two games. He is more than ready to step in for Rooney in that role and it would also allow Manchester United to ease back into their 4-3-3 formation that brought them so much success last season.

His partnership with Juan Mata could prove key and would help Manchester United rediscover the form that saw United get a win on Merseyside last season, at Anfield when Herrera set up Mata for the opening goal of the game.

Anthony Martial has done nothing to see the hype around his move die down since signing for Manchester United from Monaco on deadline day. He has broken into the France squad and got two assists in his two games over the break, including one just four minutes into his first start for the senior side. His directness and ability to square up a defender could see him cause a lot of trouble for the likes of Phil Jagielka and van Gaal will need to make him the focal point of the attacks if the Reds are to ensure victory on Saturday afternoon.

Credit: lineupbuilder.com /

Next: Martial: Man Utd can win the league AND Champions League

Home/Manchester United News