MY ACCOUNT
– Manchester United have won their last seven home games, scoring at least two goals in six of them
– Everton have conceded 16 goals in their last six league and cup matches, losing five
– Recommended bet: United to win with over 1.5 goals
The FA Cup third round begins at Old Trafford on Friday night when in-form Manchester United host an Everton side smarting from a damaging Premier League defeat.
The Red Devils made it four wins from four, all with clean sheets, since the restart with a thorough demolition of Bournemouth on Tuesday.
Marcus Rashford continued his impressive run by scoring in his fourth successive game, but Donny van de Beek picked up a nasty-looking knee injury against the Cherries.
Everton’s 4-1 home defeat to Brighton that same night left the Toffees one point clear of the relegation zone and Frank Lampard teetering on the brink of being sacked.
The cup could be a welcome distraction from their league woes for the Merseysiders, who have drawn on their last three competitive visits to Old Trafford.
Team news
Ten Hag rotated his line-up in midweek by recalling both Victor Lindelof and Harry Maguire in defence while handing Van de Beek only his second Premier League start of the campaign.
The former Ajax man went off with a knee injury just before half-time with his Dutch coach later admitting his concern, stating it was “not looking very good”.
Ten Hag could view Friday’s game as the ideal opportunity to work Diogo Dalot and Lisandro Martinez, who both came off the bench on Tuesday, back into the starting XI.
Scott McTominay and Fred are both pushing for starting roles in midfield, while Brazilian winger Antony returned to training on Wednesday after missing out on the matchday squad altogether 24 hours earlier because of an unspecified injury.
Jadon Sancho has trained with the squad all week after returning from an individual fitness program in the Netherlands and could earn a recall.
For Everton, changes are anticipated as Lampard looks to keep things fresh and involve some players that have not seen much action recently.
Ben Godfrey could be recalled to the starting XI after Lampard said the reason he did not start again in midweek was to manage his comeback from injury.
Anthony Gordon missed out against Brighton through illness while Michael Keane has been sidelined recently after suffering an injury in the pre-match warm-up at Manchester City on New Year’s Eve.
The stats
United and Everton have met 12 times in the FA Cup with the Red Devils winning six and losing six, including a penalty-shootout defeat at Wembley in the semi-finals back in 2009.
Everton conceded three goals within six minutes against Brighton.
Only against Bolton in December 2005 have the Toffees conceded three goals in a shorter space of time (five minutes) at home since the Second World War.
The defeat was Lampard’s 19th in 36 league games in charge of the club.
In contrast, United’s midweek victory was Ten Hag’s 18th in 25 games in charge.
That boosts his win percentage to 72.0 — close to the 73.5% mark he achieved at Ajax.
Prediction
A week into October, Everton boasted the best defensive record in the Premier League, having conceded just seven goals in eight games.
But since they walked out at Goodison Park to face United three months ago, the Toffees have shipped 13 times in the subsequent nine to post the joint-lowest top-flight points tally in that time.
Confidence in the camp has been eroded to the point that they immediately look vulnerable once the first goal has gone into their net.
United, on the other hand, are becoming a team to trust once more — particularly at home where they have not conceded a goal in eight of their last nine games.
The last seven games at Old Trafford have all been won by Ten Hag’s team and six of those have seen United score at least two goals.
That pattern could continue on Friday when United can be backed at 10/13 with LiveScore Bet to win with over 1.5 goals in the game.
