Roberto Martinez expects James McCarthy to play

Roberto Martinez has said that he expects James McCarthy to be ready for Everton's match against Manchester United this weekend.

The midfielder dropped to the substitutes' bench for the team's 3-2 defeat to Crystal Palace earlier this week with a muscular problem.

The manager told the club's website: "He is massively important to us and he should be fine. I was very pleased because we took a bit of a risk with him on Wednesday.

"But he's fully fit, he came through okay and he's preparing well for Sunday. I don't expect that to be a problem."

However, club captain Phil Jagielka and Steven Pienaar are both expected to sit out Sunday's clash.

Everton head into the weekend one point behind fourth-placed Arsenal in the Premier League table.