When they host Everton in Saturday’s Premier League matchup at noon, Manchester United have an opportunity to extend their run of unbeaten games at Old Trafford to 24 games.
Wednesday’s 1-0 victory over Brentford propelled Manchester United back into the top four of the league, while Monday’s 1-1 stalemate between the Toffees and Tottenham Hotspur kept them above the relegation zone.
Erik ten Hag received the exact reaction he was looking for when Brentford came to Old Trafford as Man United immediately put the loss to Newcastle United behind them with a tight victory over the Bees.
Marcus Rashford’s staggering half volley that shook the roof of the net was all that was required to put the Red Devils ahead, but David de Gea once again came up big to deny the Bees a share of the spoils by making a critical save one-on-one with Kevin Schade.
Manchester United
In terms of United’s squad, Casemiro is set to serve the fourth and final game of his domestic ban and can be expected to return in the game against Nottingham Forrest over the next weekend.
Luke Shaw, who left the Brentford game in the first half with what appeared to be a hamstring injury, is the untimely subject of Ten Hag’s worries. “Luke Shaw is not available for tomorrow,” began the boss. “We have to see how it progresses in the coming week.”
Midfielder Christian Eriksen, who was recently seen back with the first team in training at Carrington, is expected to make his way back into United’s matchday squad for the first time since January.
“The good news is Christian Eriksen is back in training and he will be back tomorrow in the squad,” said the boss when asked if he will be available to face the Toffees this weekend.
Tom Heaton and Alejandro Garnacho are also out due to separate ankle problems, and Donny van de Beek will miss the entire season after undergoing knee surgery in January. On Garnacho, Ten Hag’s latest update in March consisted of: “It will take weeks. He will be back before the end of the season. We can win a lot, so he has to be ready.”
This, therefore, assumes that Garnacho could be back in action towards the end of April/beginning of May.
Everton
After receiving a red card during Monday’s thrilling 1-1 draw with Tottenham at Goodison Park, Abdoulaye Doucoure has been suspended.
The Toffees had to work hard to earn a crucial point in their battle against the drop, and Michael Keane, a former United player, scored a superb equaliser from range in stoppage time.
Long-term absentees include Dominic Calvert-Lewin (thigh) and Andros Townsend (knee), while backup full-back Ruben Vinagre is expected to rejoin the team after a month away. The rest of Dyche’s team, in his opinion, should be OK.
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