It was another eventful week at Old Trafford for Louis Van Gaal and his Manchester United players. After taking a two goal lead at home to West Ham last Saturday, they looked set for another routine victory. They managed to hold on for all three points but it was more dramatic than it needed to be as West Ham came within a couple of inches from securing a draw and United’s captain Wayne Rooney was sent off for a petulant challenge. Van Gaal would have been delighted to gain his second win in charge but he will know only too well that he has to instil more discipline and consistency in his squad if they are to achieve their target for a top four finish.
As noted in last week’s preview ahead of the Merseyside derby, Everton had not reached the same level of performance as they were at for long periods of last season. A week later and that’s still the case but two come from behind away draws, firstly against Liverpool then against Krasnodar in the Europa League, are positive results in the circumstances. They may only have one win to their name in the league thus far but there are signs that they are capable of repeating last year’s efforts providing they can defend better as a team and cut out the individual errors which have blighted them in recent weeks. They’ve conceded the most amount of goals in the Premier League despite playing a game less than most, so it’s an area which has to be improved if they are to climb the table.
Due to his sending off last week, Rooney misses out against his former club with Juan Mata likely to replace him behind Robin Van Persie and Radamel Falcao. Van Gaal has not had his injuries problems to seek since taking charge and it’s the same ahead of this weekend’s game. Ander Herrera, who himself has managed a couple of goals in recent weeks, joins the growing list which features a number of defenders. It’s those absentees which further emphasise how fragile United are at the moment.
The switch of John Stones from right back to the centre of defence looks to have shorn things up in the last couple of weeks but they still look vulnerable when the opposition press high. Without Seamus Coleman has meant they don’t have the same explosive pace when countering and that has seen them having to defend deeper for longer periods. They can take inspiration from last year’s display at this venue when they came away with a 1-0 win which they fully deserved. A repeat for that would be very timely for Roberto Martinez.
I think the first impression for people looking at this game is that there will be goals as neither have convinced defensively. Unfortunately that’s factored into the prices for both teams to score and total goals market. United will look to take advantage of Everton’s exertions in Russia on Thursday so I expect them to come out quickly. They have scored two goals in the first half in their last three league games and that’s the way to go here. Another bet I like is John Stones anytime. The young defender has had a couple of chances at set pieces in the last month thanks to his excellent timing and huge leap – he could exploit United’s deficiencies at the back.
Over 1.5 first half goals 11/8 @ Coral
John Stones anytime 21/1 @ 888Sport
