Manchester United are ready to keep their streak going. After winning the past two Premier League matches, they will hope to add another one to the run, especially after a 5-0 beating of Club Brugge on Thursday. Now it is time to make a trip to Merseyside, to meet Everton at Goodison Park.
The side led by Carlo Ancelotti will be an interesting task for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. The Norwegian managed to rest some important players against Brugge and get the best possible result out of it, so now there will be some fresher legs, including Nemanja Matic.
But first…
What should we know about Everton?
They are in an interesting position right now. With Ancelotti as their manager, they are better than they used to be and Carleto is expected to stay in Liverpool for much longer. The Italian is someone Everton board believe in and the Toffees are currently in 11th place.
But that number should not fool anyone. They might be in 11th place, but they are also just five points behind Manchester United. Win against the Devils would get them into a real mix of teams challenging for European football next season. That might be too big of a task for them this year, but nevertheless, they are not a side to be joking around with.
What Happened Since The First Meeting?
Since the first meeting, the 1-1 draw at Old Trafford, Everton have played 10 matches and they won five, drew three of them and lost against Manchester City and Arsenal. That is a really good run for them, as it also involved a 0-0 draw against the Gunners in December.
They have beaten the sides that are realistically worse than them, which is very important part of making progress.
How Are They Doing In The League?
They are currently sitting in 11th place with the chance to make up some ground, especially after those poor months under Marco Silva. But it is also important to note that Everton have been underperforming in both expected goals scored and expected goals conceded. They scored only 36 goals so far this season, but xG numbers suggest they should be at 41 or 42. Also, they conceded 41 goals, but xG against stands at 34. That is a goal-difference of 13 goals, if both parameters were to be changed accordingly…
Where To Pay Attention?
In terms of dangerous players, Dominic Calwert-Lewin is having a great season. He scored 12 goals, a third of all Everton goals in the league. He also scored in four of the last five matches he played in and all of that with xG of 11.94, suggesting he is where he should be.
Calwert-Lewin is also shooting a lot, over three shots per 90 minutes, but Richarlison is equally dangerous. He can be a threat both by scoring and creating for others and in recent times he has shown he enjoys playing big six sides.
On the other hand, Jordan Pickford has shown that he can be a weak link, which in some part is why their xGA is so poor. He has been struggling with keeping shots out.
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