Sir Alex Ferguson has sounded ebullient this week.
There can be no doubt that the purchase of Robin van Persie from
Arsenal gives him an array of forwards that others will envy, but
the implication was that Manchester
United are not receding into
the shadows merely because Manchester City are Premier League champions. He was also indicating once more that
he is at peace with the policies of the owners, the Glazers.
Everton, however, could cause
United disquiet on Monday night in a demanding fixture at Goodison.
Venue Goodison Park, Monday 3am
Tickets £35-42 (0871 663 1878)
Last season Everton 0 Man Utd 1
Referee Andre Marriner
Last season's matches 22 Y76,
R5, 3.68 cards per game
Odds Everton 7-2 Man Utd 11-12 Draw 5-2
Subs from Mucha, Distin, Hibbert, Barkley,
Gueye, Vellios, Anichebe, Duffy, McAleny, Coleman, Francisco
Doubtful Fellaini (groin), Gibson (thigh)
Injured None
Suspended None
Disciplinary record (last season) Y60 R1
Leading scorer (last season) Jelavic 9
Subs from Lindegaard, Valencia, Nani, Anderson,
Berbatov, Giggs, Hernández, Welbeck, Cleverley, Powell, Macheda
Doubtful None
Injured Evans (ankle, 25 Aug), Jones (back, 15
Sep), Smalling (metatarsal, Oct), Fletcher (bowel, unknown)
Suspended None
Disciplinary record (last season) Y50 R1
Leading scorer (last season) Rooney 27
• United have not lost their first game of the season
since Chelsea beat them 1-0 in 2004
• Everton have won just one of their last 14 top-flight
games against United, losing nine times in that run
• In the last two seasons, United have twice gone into
the final 10 minutes of a match with Everton leading by two goals
and ended up drawing
• Nikica Jelavic was Everton's top scorer in the league
last season despite not playing his first game until
February
• David de Gea ended last season with the best
saves-to-shots ratio (77.9%) in the Premier League
