Everton FC visit Manchester United Sunday in a match that features plenty of huge storylines. Obviously you start with the return of Wayne Rooney, suiting up for the visitors for the first time since 2004. Another forward, Romelu Lukaku, went the other way in the summer transfer window, so he also gets the chance to face his former team in this fixture.
Regarding the Man United Starting XI, well we have two first team members already confirmed.
Phil Jones and Eric Bailly were suspended for the UEFA Champions League win over Basel on Tuesday, so Chris Smalling and Victor Lindelof filled in. They now head back to the bench, with Jones and Bailly resuming their roles in the first 11 reports Manchester Evening News.
“They [Smalling and Lindelof] train really hard,” Mourinho said after United beat Basel.
“They train together always in the same team because I knew they had to play this match together. If you want to anticipate the next weekend I probably play Bailly and Jones because today they didn’t play, because they are fresh, because it makes sense for them to play again, but then two days after we have a League Cup match, so Victor and Smalling again.
“So we need this and in the Premier League and the Champions League I have to choose the players in relation to the quality. When I know I’m going to face one of these defensive walls Victor is probably the best to come with the ball, to attack spaces in midfield, to fight people in between the lines.”
“So what I want is to have the players available and sometimes they are not playing, but for me as a manager it’s important.”
Without further ado, here is The Sports Bank’s Man United starting XI prediction (4-2-3-1)
Romelu Lukau
Marcus Rashford Henrikh Mkhitaryan Juan Mata
Ander Herrera Nemanja Matic
Daley Blind Phil Jones Eric Bailly Antonio Valencia
David de Gea
Odds: (via Bet Fred) United- 1/3, Draw- 4/1, Everton FC 8/1
Kickoff: 16:00 BST
Mourinho press conference video: go to this link
Injury Report, match preview, team news: go to this link
Prediction: Manchester United 1, Everton 0
As always, feel free to post your own Man United starting XI prediction in the comments section, and to opine on any other formations that you’ve seen online.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net and TheBank.News, which is partnered with News Now and Minute Media. Banks, a former writer for the Washington Times, NBC Chicago.com and Chicago Tribune.com, currently contributes regularly to WGN CLTV and Chicago Now.
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