David De Gea
Matteo Darmian, Chris Smalling, Daley Blind, Marcos Rojo
Morgan Schneiderlin, Michael Carrick
Juan Mata, Wayne Rooney, Memphis Depay
Anthony Martial
Manchester United need to bounce back from their woeful performance in their last Premier League game, against Arsenal.
The main issue against the Gunners was the complete lack of midfield presence. Bastian Schweinsteiger and Michael Carrick were no where to be seen and the two wingers, Depay and Mata, refused to track back.
Schneiderlin, United’s only natural defensive midfielder, should start against Everton, and give the back four the protection that Carrick and Schweinsteiger failed to provide.
Due to Schweinsteiger being doubtful, and Herrera only recently starting to train again after his injury, Carrick looks set to start alongside Schneiderlin.
Louis van Gaal has announced that neither Rojo nor Herrera are fit to play 90 minutes but Ashley Young is injured.
Instead of playing Darmian on the wrong side and having winger Antonio Valencia at right back, the manager will most likely play the Argentinean for the first hour of the game.
Wayne Rooney will be looking to get back to his usual form but it will be another challenge for him as he will once again be played out of position. There’s no wonder why he’s not scoring when he’s being played in the unfamiliar midfield role each game.
Despite the 4-2-3-1 formation putting Rooney out of position, and it clearly not creating enough promising attacking plays, van Gall will most likely stick to the system.
Just going to a 4-4-2, and putting Rooney alongside Martial, would not only create more chances, but would also mean that Rooney is not playing 90 minutes in a position that he is obviously incapable of performing in.
Manchester United kick off against Everton at 15:00, at Goodison Park.
