Manchester United this afternoon make their final trip to Goodison Park to face an Everton team firmly on the up under David Moyes, who has won four of his seven games since returning as manager. Ruben Amorim, meanwhile, has lost three of his last four Premier League games to fall behind the Toffees in the table.
Relegation was a real concern for Everton just a month ago but they are now 13 points clear of the bottom three and looking up the table. United know only a remarkable set of results will put them in genuine peril of the drop, but the fact they are in this situation heading into March is startling in itself. The last time United finished below Everton was 11 years ago.
But Amorim has been boosted by the return to fitness of three key players, with Manuel Ugarte, Leny Yoro and Christian Eriksen all available after missing the loss to Tottenham last time out. United will again be reluctantly looking to Rasmus Hojlund and Joshua Zirkzee for goals, neither of which has scored in the league since December.
Still, United - despite their struggles seemingly anywhere else - hold a good record against Everton and at Goodison Park. They’ve lost just twice to the Toffees in 10 years and have not conceded a single goal to Everton in over two years. You can follow the game LIVE below with Standard Sport’s dedicated match blog!
Everton vs Manchester United latest updates
Kick-off: 12.30pm, Goodison Park
How to watch: TNT Sports
Everton team news: Doucoure back
Man Utd team news: Three return
Score prediction
Everton missing 'nine or 10' players
10:14 , Alex Young
Everton will be boosted by the return of Abdoulaye Doucoure against Manchester United, but David Moyes has revealed he is still without “nine or 10” players.
Doucoure is available again after serving a one-match suspension as a result of his sending off following the final whistle in the 2-2 draw with Liverpool last week.
The midfielder played his part in the last-ever Merseyside derby to be held at Goodison Park descending into chaos after the game had finished.
It was his decision to celebrate Everton’s late equaliser in front of the travelling Liverpool fans that sparked a furious melee as Curtis Jones appeared to take exception and sprinted over to confront him.
Both players were then involved in an angry bust-up that saw them each receive second yellow cards.
Doucoure sat out Everton’s impressive 2-1 win over Crystal Palace last week, but is in contention to return to the starting lineup in a welcome boost for Moyes who, similar to Man United boss Ruben Amorim, is dealing with an injury crisis.
How to watch Everton vs Manchester United
10:05 , Alex Young
TV channel: The game will be broadcast on TNT Sports 1 and TNT Sports Ultimate. Coverage starts at 11am GMT ahead of a 12.30pm kick-off.
Live stream: Subscribers will be able to watch on a live stream via the Discovery+ app.
Welcome
09:59 , Alex Young
Good morning and welcome to the London Standard’s LIVE coverage of the Premier League clash between Everton and Manchester United.
Hosts Everton begin the day ahead of United, which is a distinct rarity for this stage of the season, and underlines both how David Moyes has improved the Toffees and how Ruben Amorim has failed to do the same with his team.
Kick-off at Goodison Park is at 12.30pm. Stick with us.
