Manchester United have all but already clinched the Premier League Summer Series trophy. Yes, although this is a preseason friendly round robin, there is still a trophy on the line. And United need to only draw, win or lose by three goals or less against Everton FC to claim it.
Like the Premier League trophy itself, the Summer Series trophy has the annual holders named inscribed at the base.
Premier League Summer Series FYIs
Manchester United vs Everton FC
Kickoff: Sun Aug 3, 5pm EST, Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta, GA, USA
Preview Material for Both Sides: Starting Lineup Predictions Team News
Luke Shaw Media Roundtable: Getting Candid About His Injuries Discussing England Natl Team Duty
United 4, Bournemouth 1 News and Notes: Part 1 Part 2
Summer Series Standings, Form: Man United 1st, 6 pts, +4 GD, WW Everton FC 4th, 0 pts, -4 GD, LL
For now, there is only one name and year etched in this piece of silverware- Chelsea 2023. There was no edition of this event last summer, due to fixture and calendar congestion. Yes, it’s just preseason, but hey, it’s still a trophy! So why not go get it?
Given how Manchester United have looked the best so far in this competition, and Everton the worst, well, you can probably guess who this one might result.
In looking at the potential lineups for this one, David Moyes has rotated his goalkeepers a bit this preseason, between usual No. 1 Jordan Pickford and back up Mark Travers, the latter of which committed a bad gaffe last night at Solider Filed.
One of the Toffees’ main leaders, James Tarkowski, came on in the second half of last night’s 2-1 loss to West Ham. He met the media in the mixed zone afterward, so we’ll have more on that soon.
Luke Shaw, Rasmus Hojlund, Patrick Dorgu, Bruno Fernandes and Amad Diallo have all had strong preseasons for United so far, and will look to keep that momentum going here.
Starting XI Predictions
Manchester United
Altay Bayindir; Leny Yoro, Harry Maguire, Luke Shaw; Diogo Dalot, Casemiro, Mason Mount, Patrick Dorgu; Bruno Fernandes, Matheus Cunha, Rasmus Hojlund
Everton FC
Jordan Pickford; Nathan Patterson, Jake O’Brien, Michael Keane, Vitalii Mykolenko; Carlos Alcaraz, Idrissa Gueye, James Garner, Dwight McNeil, Iliman Ndiaye; Beto
Paul M. Banks is the Founding Editor of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He currently contributes to USA Today’s NFL Wires Network. His past bylines include the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune. His work has been featured in numerous outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, the Washington Post and ESPN. You can follow him on Linked In and Twitter