Ronald Koeman and his Everton side will be looking to bounce back from a disappointing Merseyside Derby defeat as they travel down the M62 to face Manchester United.

The Dutchman’s side could go level on points with Jose Mourinho’s men despite having played two games more than the hosts.

When they last met, the two sides played out a scrappy 1-1 draw at Goodison Park in early December. Former Blue, Marouane Fellaini conceded a late penalty that allowed Leighton Baines to slot home and give Koeman’s side a point.

In Focus: Recent away day blues

In recent years, Everton’s away form has helped paper over the cracks of their form. This season, at least early on, the Blues returned to being a solid team both home and away.

Comfortable wins have been picked up on a few occasions and they’ve come alongside scrappy, late wins. But in recent weeks, Koeman’s side have struggled away from Goodison Park.

In fact, Everton have gone four Premier League away fixtures without a win including losing the last two away to Tottenham Hotspur and Liverpool. Heading to Old Trafford isn’t likely to make snapping that run any easier.

Everton picked up their first win at Old Trafford in December 2013 after 23 attempts and will need to call on the steely determination they showed on that night to pick up a win over Mourinho’s men.

A look at Manchester United

Manchester United currently sit fifth in the Premier League team, 16 points behind the runaway leaders Chelsea. They can be caught by the Toffees who sit just three points below the hosts but Mourinho’s men have two games in hand.

Juan Mata, a former transfer target for Everton, will miss out through injury. Chris Smalling and Phil Jones will also miss out with injuries. They could be joined on the sidelines by Paul Pogba who is a doubt with a hamstring injury.

Despite plenty of hesitation about his ability to adapt to the English game, Zlatan Ibrahimovic has had a fine season for United. The former Paris Saint-Germain forward has bagged 26 in all competitions, including 15 in the Premier League.

While rumours surround his future past this season on Manchester, the Swedish international is a force to be reckoned with and the Everton backline will have at the top of their game to slow him down.

Probable teams

Everton: Robles, Holgate, Williams, Jagielka (C), Baines, Barry, Davies, Gueye, Barkley, Mirallas and Lukaku.

Manchester United: De Gea, Valencia, Bailly, Rojo, Young, Carrick (C), Herrera, Lingard, Mkhitaryan, Rashford and Ibrahimovic.

Match Day stats:

1. Romelu Lukaku has scored in just one of his 10 previous Premier League games against Manchester United

2. Everton have kept only 3 clean sheets against Manchester United at Old Trafford in the Premier League.

3. The Red Devils have drawn 0-0 at home in seven league games since the start of last season.