After playing host to the Cristiano Ronaldo homecoming party in midweek, the focus for Manchester United once again shifts back to the Premier League as two Portugese managers will go head to head at Old Trafford.
In the red corner is Jose Mourinho who will be looking to revive his side’s fortunes after a relatively lacklustre defeat to Juventus in the Champions League, while in the blue corner is Everton’s Marco Silva who looks to make it four Premier League wins in a row.
It has been a week of mixed fortunes for United, last weekend saw them denied a win at Stamford Bridge after Ross Barkley’s dramatic late equaliser gave his Chelsea side a deserved share of the points.
While Tuesday night saw the Red Devils once again flatter to deceive as they were second best to Juventus. The Italian giants did what they do best and that was offer up an exemplary defensive masterclass after going ahead through Pablo Dybala’s first half finish.
That just seemed to highlight the lack of attacking prowess that United have at present as Romelu Lukaku’s home goal drought since March continues, however this Sunday provides the perfect opposition for him to end this unwanted streak.
The Belgian international spent three years on Merseyside before his move to Manchester last season and it is fair to say that Everton have struggled to replace the output of the forward since his departure.
Part of the problem can be pointed in the direction of the relative managerial failures of both Ronald Koeman and Sam Allardyce who took the Everton reigns after Lukaku’s big money move across the North West.
They may not have found a direct replacement to fill the incredibly big shoes that have been left behind, to be honest it would be almost impossible in which to do so. That said, the outlook is starting to look positive at Everton once more.
The arrival of Richarlison from Watford who has once again linked up with Marco Silva after their time at Vicarage Road has been an inspired one, while Cenk Tosun played a key part in helping the Toffees earn all three points last weekend against Crystal Palace.
After a slightly scattergun transfer policy last season, things now look a bit more settled in the blue half of Merseyside and even though the club perhaps started this latest campaign slowly they are now starting to find their groove.
Everton will have designs of being the best of the rest outside of the ‘Big Six’, but if they can get the better of United on Sunday then they will have every reason to believe that they can also crack the glass ceiling which is the top half dozen in the Premier League.
Manchester United seem to be playing at their best when they go behind, something that they can ill afford to do so against Everton. If they can score first at Old Trafford, then it should at least give them enough of a platform to go on an earn all three points come Sunday.