What: Barclays Premier League, Matchday 24Who: Manchester United (1st, 50 pts/66 pts) vs. Everton (6th, 37 pts/69 pts)
When: Saturday, 31st January, Kick-off: 17:30 GMT
Where: Old Trafford, Manchester
Record Breakers
Whether it's 1,032 minutes since Edwin Van der Sar picked the ball out of his net, 11 consecutive clean sheets or 1st place in the table, the numbers are all adding up to another Manchester United title victory.
Tuesday’s 5-0 win over bottom-placed West Bromwich Albion maintained the Red Devils' place in the Premier League driving seat as the champions unloaded against their hosts.
A brace from Cristiano Ronaldo, plus goals from Dimitar Berbatov, Carlos Tevez and Nemanja Vidic gave a healthy glow to a game played out in the freezing Hawthorns stadium.
Not only did Sir Alex Ferguson relish his attack firing on all cylinders, but at the other end of the pitch United entered the record books as the meanest defence in Premier League history.
Since Samir Nasri’s double in the defeat at Arsenal nearly three months ago, they have been unbreakable. This achievement has been made all the more remarkable by the disturbances caused by injuries and suspensions to Patrice Evra, Rio Ferdinand, Wes Brown, Jonny Evans and Brazilian twins Fabio and Rafael Da Silva.
One constant has remained in Nemanja Vidic. The Serb’s dominating presence has been the foundation the Mancunians have built upon, putting him in the picture for the Player of the Year honours.
With Rio Ferdinand, Wes Brown and Patrice Evra likely to line up alongside him against Everton, another three points should be headed their way to pile the pressure on Liverpool and Chelsea before they clash on Sunday afternoon.
From Merseyside To Manchester
The disappointment of conceding a scarcely deserved injury-time leveller can knock even the best of teams out of their stride. Thankfully for all Everton fans, manager David Moyes’ players are made of sterner stuff.
Wednesday night’s 1-1 draw with Arsenal saw the Toffees outplay their opponents for long spells of the game. A win would have put their blue noses firmly into the fight for 4th place and the pot of gold awarded to Champions League qualifiers.
Across the pitch they bettered their counterparts in Red, and were rewarded in the 61st minute when Tim Cahill nodded home a typical rising header.
As the clock moved beyond the 90 minute mark, this had seemed enough to put them on the path to the upper echelons of the table, before Robin Van Persie intervened majestically with a stinging left-footed shot over Tim Howard’s head.
This result will bring back memories of the trip to Old Trafford last year. On that day, Steven Pienaar’s moment of madness in the 88th minute set up Cristiano Ronaldo to cruelly fire United to a 2-1 victory from the penalty spot.
Moyes will also recall October’s 1-1 draw at Goodison Park. This fixture saw the Red Devils hanging onto the ropes as a second half onslaught from Everton threatened to blow them away.
A repeat performance from the Blues would draw a line under their midweek frustrations. But, with an FA Cup replay to come against Liverpool, the attraction of local bragging rights may just be too much of a distraction for them to replicate this ferocious performance.
FORM GUIDE
Manchester United:
27th January vs. West Bromwich Albion (A) won 5-0 (PREM)
24th January vs. Tottenham Hotspur (H) won 2-1 (FA CUP)
20th January vs. Derby County (H) won 4-2 (CARLING CUP)
17th January vs. Bolton Wanderers (A) won 1-0 (PREM)
14th January vs. Wigan Athletic (H) won 1-0 (PREM)
Everton:
28th January vs. Arsenal (H) drew 1-1- (PREM)
25th January vs. Liverpool (A) drew 1-1- (FA CUP)
19th January vs. Liverpool (A) drew 1-1 (PREM)
10th January vs. Hull City (H) won 2-0 (PREM)
3rd January vs. Macclesfield Town (A) won 1-0 (FA CUP)
TEAM NEWS
Manchester United:
The overworked Manchester United medical team can finally begin to relax as the club’s injury crisis starts to recede, with Fabio and Danny Welbeck joining Wes Brown and Rio Ferdinand in the matchday squad.
Everton old boy Wayne Rooney (hamstring), Patrice Evra (foot) and Nani (groin) are still a week away from full fitness, whilst Jonny Evans (ankle), Rafael (hamstring) and Anderson (ankle) remain sidelined along with Owen Hargreaves (knee).
Last starting XI (vs. West Bromwich Albion): Van der Sar, Neville (Eckersley 71), Ferdinand (Brown 70), Vidic, O'Shea, Park, Carrick, Giggs, Ronaldo, Berbatov (Tošić 77), Tevez.
Subs Not Used: Kuszczak, Scholes, Fletcher, Gibson.
Squad: Van der Sar, Foster, Kuszczak, Neville, Ferdinand, Brown, Vidic, O'Shea, Fabio, Chester, Eckersley, Ronaldo, Scholes, Giggs, Carrick, Park, Gibson, Possebon, Tevez, Berbatov, Welbeck.
Possible starting XI: Van der Sar, Neville, Ferdinand, Vidic, O’Shea, Ronaldo, Park, Giggs, Carrick, Tevez, Berbatov.
Everton:
With one eye on the FA Cup clash with Liverpool, David Moyes is expected to rest Tim Cahill (foot) and Marouane Fellaini (shin).
The Scottish manager will also be without long-term absentees Louis Saha (hamstring), Nuno Valente (knee), Yakubu (knee) and James Vaughan (knee).
Last starting XI (vs. Arsenal): Howard, Hibbert, Jagielka, Lescott, Baines, Osman, Arteta, Neville, Pienaar, Fellaini, Cahill (Anichebe 86).
Subs Not Used: Nash, Yobo, Castillo, Rodwell, Jutkiewicz, Gosling.
Squad: Howard, Hibbert, Jagielka, Lescott, Baines, Anichebe, Gosling, Castillo, Rodwell, Neville, Osman, Arteta, Fellaini, Pienaar, Cahill, Nash, Yobo, Van der Meyde, Jacobsen, Jutkiewicz.
Possible starting XI: Howard, Hibbert, Jagielka, Lescott, Baines, Rodwell, Neville, Osman, Arteta, Pienaar, Anichebe.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Manchester United: Away from the euphoria surrounding the Red Devils’ record-breaking defence, Ryan Giggs has been just as impressive in a new central midfield berth. His rebirth reached another peak against West Brom in midweek as he laid on three assists for his team-mates. The Welsh legend won a last-minute penalty in this fixture last season. If Giggs plays a big part again, then United stand every chance of notching another victory in the race to the Premier League crown.
Everton: There aren’t many centre-backs in finer form than Phil Jagielka. In tandem with Joleon Lescott, the ex-Sheffield United man has been a rock at the heart of the Toffees' defence. The last few weeks have seen him shackle Fernando Torres & Emmanuel Adebayor during his side’s seven-game run without defeat. If he affords the same iron-fisted treatment to the United front-line, then this spell could be extended beyond the weekend.
PREDICTION
Even though Wednesday’s match against Liverpool is firmly on the Toffees' radar, this is still going to be a big test of the Mancunians' title winning credentials.
United seem prepared to tackle anything that comes their way at the moment though, and should persevere against their feisty opponents.
Manchester United 1-0 Everton
Resource: Goal.com
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