Manchester United travel to Goodison Park to face Everton this weekend, in a big game which will show whether United’s performance against Arsenal was just a one off or whether there are serious issues beginning to appear.
As with every big game there are going to be battles all over the pitch, so here are the five most important things to keep a look out for.
Can Wayne Rooney finally find some good form against his former club?
A man who recently broke the national goal scoring record and is nearing Manchester United’s all-time top goal scorer, started his career with Manchester United’s opponents this weekend, Everton.
From being a fan favourite at just 16, to being despised on his big money move to United, Rooney returning to Goodison Park always creates a stir. While the bad feelings seem to have died down in recent years, the pressure will still be on for the United striker to finally start performing, especially with the pressure being on at his old club.
Look for Rooney to be involved all game as he tried to score against his boyhood club.
Will Blind be able to cope with Lukaku?
Daley Blind stood out last time out against Arsenal as not being a genuine central defender. He was beaten time and time again, was found out of position and even looked sloppy on the ball.
This time out he faces a very different challenge to the pace of Arsenal’s attackers and that is the pure strength and height of Everton and Belgian striker Lukaku. Ever since Blind became the starting centre back for Manchester United, there has been fears on how well he can cope with the more powerful strikers in the league.
Against Liverpool he wasn’t tested in the air by big man Christian Benteke, due to Liverpool not attempting to utilise his strengths.
It is unlikely however that Everton will make the same mistake and Blind can expect a lot of crosses in his direction this weekend, so it will be interesting to see how he can cope with them all.
Will Ashley Young start at left-back?
Coping with an injury as bad as Luke Shaw’s is never going to be an easy task for United. In the split second the challenge by Moreno was made, United lost their best left-back by far and they also lost the solidity he brought to the side.
Ashley Young was drafted in to cover the left-back position in his absence against Arsenal and he was torn apart by Walcott and Sanchez all game.
Prior to this, his season was going from strength to strength so expect Van Gaal to stick with Young.
For any left-back no matter how experienced facing the pace and skill of Walcott and Sanchez is a tough ask, but for a make shift left-back who is a left winger by trade, it is near on impossible.
Now while not being as skillful and as quick, Mirallas is still a very good player and it would be odd if they don’t attack Young using Mirallas, opening up more crossing opportunities for Lukaku.
Can Martial fire United to victory?
After signing from Monaco for a widely criticised fee, the teenager has started to show some that he isn’t the waste of money some of the press labelled him as. Ever since his stunning solon goal against Liverpool to secure all three points on the day, he has continued to impress.
He has bagged two against Southampton, one against Liverpool and one against Ipswich in the Capital One Cup since joining and is showing some great potential, but more importantly he is showing instant talent.
With the defence seemingly going to be shaky at best, Manchester United may just be involved in a serious shoot out for the three points. With Rooney struggling to score at the moment, it is time for Martial to start proving even more doubters wrong.
If United can utilise Martial in the correct way then he will be a handful for the Everton defenders.
Who will start in central midfield?
Against Arsenal Louis Van Gaal made the odd decision to start both Carrick and Schweinsteiger and they were passed off the park all day, they looked like passengers against the fast passing and give and goes of the Arsenal side.
It is surely logical for Schweinsteiger to be dropped in favour of Morgan Schneiderlin as he offers more defensively than the German midfielder. Not only was he passed off the park, Bastian also looked defensively shot as he allowed more and more space in behind him, which was well exploited by the Arsenal attackers.
It would be a huge shock if Carrick and Schneiderlin didn’t start for the Reds.
