Good afternoon, and a very happy New Year! Thank you very much for joining Sports Mole for the first late kickoff of 2018 as Everton host Manchester United at Goodison Park!

Both of these sides ended 2017 on a rather negative note and so will be looking to bounce back from that this afternoon, just two days after they were last in action.

We will take a close look at the clubs a little later, but let's start with the team news...

EVERTON STARTING XI: Pickford; Holgate, Williams, Keane, Martina; Davies, Schneiderlin, Vlasic, Rooney, Bolasie; Niasse

EVERTON SUBS: Robles, Jagielka, Lennon, McCarthy, Sigurdsson, Calvert-Lewin, Kenny

MAN UTD STARTING XI: De Gea; Lindelof, Jones, Rojo, Shaw; Matic, Herrera, Mata, Pogba, Lingard; Martial

MAN UTD SUBS: Romero, Blind, Darmian, Smalling, Tuanzebe, Mkhitaryan, Rashford

What can we make of those two teams, then?

Well, we will have a look at the hosts in a short while, but let's start with Manchester United, who make three changes to the side which started the goalless draw against Southampton last time out - perhaps fewer than many would have expected considering the poor nature of that performance and the quick turnaround.

The most notable of those is a start for Anthony Martial up front in his favoured position, with the Frenchman preferred ahead of Marcus Rashford this afternoon.

Martial's rare chance through the middle is down to an injury to Romelu Lukaku, who misses out against his former team today after needing to be stretchered off during the draw with Southampton.

Lukaku will miss at least two games with the head injury, whereas Zlatan Ibrahimovic is expected to be sidelined for a month with a knee problem, so this is a really good chance for Martial to show why he should be considered as a central striker.

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Behind Martial will be the in-form Jesse Lingard, Juan Mata and Paul Pogba, with the only change in that midfield from the Southampton game seeing Henrikh Mkhitaryan drop to the bench as Herrera comes into the side.

Matic, as ever, will sit alongside Herrera in the middle of the park, which is a fairly defensive-minded pairing for United.

The third change to the United team is an enforced one as Marcos Rojo replaces Ashley Young in defence after Young was given a three-match retrospective ban for violent conduct having appeared to elbow Dusan Tadic during the match against Southampton.

The team sheet suggests that Lindelof will operate in right-back as cover for Young, with Jones and Rojo making up the centre-back pairing and Luke Shaw handed another start on the left.

Plenty of those defenders will know all about the man they are coming up against this afternoon, with Wayne Rooney taking on his former club having returned from illness in time to start this match.

Rooney is rightly regarded as a legend among United supporters having won every trophy available to him during his time at Old Trafford, leaving the club as their all-time top scorer after netting 253 times in 559 matches across all competitions.

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Rooney is expected to operate in a number 10 role this afternoon, leaving Oumar Niasse - once a forgotten man at Goodison Park - to come in and lead the line for the Toffees here.

Niasse looked like he had no future at the club at various stages of Ronald Koeman's tenure, but for once he will head into a transfer window with a future which seems a lot more encouraging now.

Sam Allardyce has deemed that Bolasie - who recently spent a lengthy time on the sidelines through injury - is fit enough to start a second game in the space of just seven days, but Allardyce hasn't been shy about chopping and changing elsewhere.

Indeed, Everton make seven changes to their side for this match, including a rare start for Vlasic.

The likes of Kenny, Jagielka, McCarthy, Gueye, Lennon, Calvert-Lewin and Sigurdsson all also drop out of the starting lineup for this match as Allardyce rings the changes in an attempt to keep his side fresh during this busy period.

Holgate, Williams and Davies are amongst those to come in, while Schneiderlin retains his place against his former club.

Everton come into this match having seen their unbeaten record under Sam Allardyce ended last time out when they fell to a late defeat at the hands of out-of-form Bournemouth, with Ryan Fraser getting a brace either side of a Gueye strike.

The Toffees had previously gone eight matches without defeat since Allardyce's appointment had been announced, winning five of those and drawing three.

That form saw Everton climb away from the relegation zone and all the way into the top half, beginning the day in ninth place despite their dreadful start to the campaign.

Allardyce will still undoubtedly keep one wary eye on what is going on behind his team, but they are nine points clear of safety now and there are plenty of teams more vulnerable than the Toffees as things stand.

Even so, Everton were tipped to challenge for the top six this season, and after 21 games they actually sit closer to the bottom three than the top six in terms of points.

This time last season they were six points and two places better off, but there has certainly been an improvement since Allardyce took charge of the club despite an ongoing three-game winless run.

Perhaps unsurprisingly for an Allardyce team, the main improvement has been in defence. Only three teams in the entire division have conceded more goals than Everton this season, but despite that the Toffees have let in just four in their last nine games, with half of those coming on Saturday.

Goals at the other end have also been a bit of an issue in recent weeks, scoring just once in their last three games, and now only Burnley have scored fewer goals in the top half.

Everton have a difficult run coming up in their bids to improve that statistics, with today's match against United being followed by an FA Cup tie with Liverpool and then a Premier League showdown with Spurs.

Everton do have that gap to the relegation zone which I alluded to earlier, but having risen up the table with a few victories, they will be all too aware of what a few defeats can do to a team too.

Defeat here would see Everton lose back-to-back league games for the first time since October, but they are unbeaten in their last four home games, scoring nine goals and conceding just once in the process.

The Toffees held Chelsea to a goalless draw in their most recent one too, and should they repeat the feat today - or even manage a win - then it would be their longest home unbeaten streak since April.

In the Premier League alone Everton's unbeaten run here at Goodison stretches back to five games, during which they have picked up 13 points from the 15 available.

That represents a major improvement in form from the four games prior to that, when they only managed one win and three points from the 12 on offer.

There have been better times to visit Goodison Park, then, although United are unbeaten in their last four Premier League games on the road, winning three of those and drawing one since the 0-1 defeat at Chelsea at the beginning of November.

United had only won two of their previous 10 Premier League away games before that, so there is also a better time to be facing United on the road.

Only Manchester City and Chelsea have picked up more points away from home than United this season, despite 11 of the 16 goals United have conceded being let in on their travels.

Jose Mourinho's side have been far more solid at the back in front of their own fans, but Allardyce's Everton are not exactly renowned for lots of goals flying in.

The stats suggest that Everton should be confident of at least scoring today, with United failing keep a clean sheet in any of their last seven away games stretching back to a goalless draw Liverpool in October.

United had kept three clean sheets in their opening four games away from home this season, but since then United have embarked on their longest run without an away clean sheet since December 2013.

Home and away, United suddenly find themselves very much embroiled in the battle for a top-four spot having drawn their last three Premier League games, slipping below Chelsea into third in the process.

The Red Devils remain six points clear of Arsenal in fifth, and one more above Tottenham Hotspur, though, so there is some margin for error for Mourinho's side.

United do seem to be heading in the right direction over Jose Mourinho, and with Man City in such relentless form their title hopes quickly disappeared and they are now able to focus on retaining their place in the Champions League next season.

United are four points and three places better off than they were at the same stage of last season, although they were 'only' 12 points off top of the table last season, whereas now they find themselves 15 points adrift.

United come into this match winless in their last four matches across all competitions, suffering that shock EFL Cup quarter-final exit to Bristol City before their three consecutive Premier League draws.

More dropped points today would make it five games without a win for the first time since December 2015, when they went eight under Louis van Gaal.

United haven't gone four Premier League games without a win so far this season, last doing so in May when they were prioritising the Europa League ahead of the Premier League.

The Red Devils have also only ever experienced one longer run of successive draws in the Premier League, sharing the spoils five times in a row in 1992.

PREDICTION: Right, we're 10 minutes away from kickoff at Goodison Park, which means that it is time for a prediction!

Both teams are looking to bounce back in this one, but it pits two managers renowned for being fairly defensive against each other so neither side is likely to give much away. I will go for a score draw.

SPORTS MOLE SAYS: Everton 1-1 Manchester United

United are unbeaten in the last six league and cup meetings between these two sides, and another victory today would see them set a new Premier League record of 35 wins against a single opponent.

United's tally of 34 Premier League wins over Everton is currently joint with their number of wins over Aston Villa, but they could go out on their own today.

However, Everton have won four of their eight home league games against United this decade, losing just twice, having won only two of their 19 against them at Goodison Park in the 1990s and 2000s combined.

Everton have only lost one of their last five Premier League home games against United, winning three of those matches, but the most recent contest saw United score three times in the final 10 minutes to help them to a 4-0 victory.

Right, the players are out and we're just about ready to get going now. A reminder of the team news first...

EVERTON STARTING XI: Pickford; Holgate, Williams, Keane, Martina; Davies, Schneiderlin, Vlasic, Rooney, Bolasie; Niasse

MAN UTD STARTING XI: De Gea; Lindelof, Jones, Rojo, Shaw; Matic, Herrera, Mata, Pogba, Lingard; Martial

KICKOFF: We're underway at Goodison Park!

Both sides have made a fairly bright start to this match, with a couple of encouraging breaks forward at both ends of the field in these opening exchanges.

Rooney is urged to shoot by all of those inside Goodison Park as he picks the ball up around 25 yards from goal, but his effort is deflected wide.

CHANCE! Holgate rises highest from the resulting corner, but he still cannot get over the ball and nods it well off target.

Good spell of possession from United as they probe for a way through, but still nothing for either keeper to do so far.

The early signs in this match suggest that Everton will pose more questions of the United defence than they did of the Chelsea one in their last home game, when they did not have a single shot on target.

There is a swirling wind inside Goodison Park today which is making things difficult for the United defenders when Everton hoist the ball into their box, which is something they have done a few times already.

United are seeing plenty of the ball here, but it is all coming in front of the Everton players and is not exactly threatening possession.

Pogba does almost break through here as he drives down the left channel before pulling the ball back into the middle. Herrera lets it go, though, and that enables Bolasie to clear the danger.

Martial has United's first shot of the contest, but it isn't one that will make any highlight reels as he blasts a speculative effort a long, long way off target.

Both teams have been a bit sloppy in possession at times so far this afternoon, with a number of relatively simple passes going astray.

CHANCE! Everton win another corner, and this one is only cleared as far as Vlasic. Vlasic gets in front of Lingard, but he cannot fire his effort on target from the edge of the box.

Still nothing of any serious note to report in terms of goalmouth action from the opening 20 minutes here. It isn't a thriller so far, it must be said.

United almost get in behind for a rare chance as Herrera slides a lovely pass through, but Martial is unable to take it in his stride when he would have been through on goal.

CHANCE! The first big chance of the game falls the way of Everton as Niasse flicks the ball past Jones to break into the box, but Rojo comes across with a superb sliding challenge to deny the striker as he was pulling the trigger.

SHOT! Jones tries his luck from a long way out, but blasts his effort well over the crossbar.

SAVE! Mata lifts a free kick into the box which Rojo rises highest to meet, but his header is tame and the keeper collects.

Pickford rather gets away with one here. Shaw gives the ball to Martial down the left channel, and the Frenchman fizzes a low cross into the box. Pickford gets a hand to it but pushes it right into the danger zone where he is fortunate to see a blue shirt clear the danger.

United are beginning to get a little bit of joy down the left flank especially at the moment. Their pressure is just beginning to grow.

Good work from Davies as he skips between two challenges on his way down the right flank, but he is tripped on the way through - although the referee waves away claims for a free kick.

SHOT! Everton fail to clear their lines, with Rooney particularly guilty of gifting possession back to Herrera. Herrera lets fly, but it goes over the crossbar.

Davies breaks into the box down the left channel and sees his cross deflected. For one moment it looked like it might loop over De Gea, but United survive.

CLOSE! This is the closest we have come to a goal so far! Paul Pogba cuts inside onto his left foot and drives a curling effort which takes a slight deflection on its way narrowly wide.

Good break from United here as this game begins to open up. Pogba strides forward down the left before pulling the ball back in for Herrera, who sees his effort deflected wide.

Now it's Everton's time to come forward again as they work the ball to Holgate in an advanced position, but his final ball is disappointing and easily collected by De Gea.

SHOT! Lingard carries the ball forward down the middle of the pitch and is soon within shooting range. The midfielder drills a low strike across goal and towards the bottom corner, but it goes a couple of yards wide of the post.

YELLOW CARD! Rooney becomes the first name in the book this evening for a challenge from behind.

There will be a minimum of one minute added time at the end of this first half.

The first half comes to an end at Goodison Park, and in truth that was not a particularly memorable period to the same as Everton and Manchester United go into the interval still goalless.

Manchester United have edged the possession, but clear cut chances have been very few and far between for both sides. United, as things stand, are on course for their fourth consecutive draw.

The closest we have come to a goal saw Paul Pogba send a deflected effort narrowly wide of the far post, with Pickford struggling to get there had it been on target.

That really is the sum of the notable attacking moments, though, with Pickford having one nervy moment when he palmed Martial's cross into a dangerous area, while Herrera has fired one long-range effort off target too.

Everton have offered precious little themselves, although they did have the first big chance of the contest when Niasse broke into the box, only to be thwarted by a fine last-ditch challenge from Marcos Rojo.

There was also a half-chance for Holgate early on when he rose highest to meet a cross, only to head the ball well off target.

It has all been a bit pedestrian in this match so far, which is perhaps a by-product of the hectic fixture schedule at this time of the year. Neither everton nor Manchester United have been able to play at a high tempo for any sustained period of time.

KICKOFF: Everton get us back underway for this second half.

SAVE! Manchester United pose about as much of a threat to Pickford in the first minute of the second half as they did throughout the first. Shaw breaks forward down the left before teeing up Mata, who takes a touch and then lashes an effort towards goal which Pickford tips over.

The resulting corner ends up at the feet of Rojo, who tries his luck with a speculative long-range strike of his own. This time it is nowhere near troubling Pickford's goal, though.

Everton have every player behind the ball at the moment as United continue to pin them back. The problem Everton have at the moment is that when they do win the ball back, they don't have a real outlet up front to keep hold of it.

OFF THE POST! It may take something special to break the deadlock in this match, and Mata almost provides it. The Spaniard unleashes a stunning effort from range which swerves away from Pickford, but the Everton keeper is happy to see it clip the post on its way behind.

Good work from Shaw as he reaches almost the byline before drilling a low cross into the box which Martina does really well to deal with.

CHANCE! United are really knocking on the door now! Pogba exchanges a give-and-go with Shaw to break in down the left once again, but his cross/shot is beyond the teammate and goes behind for a goalkick.

Manchester United finally have the breakthrough, and it has been coming! Again it stems from an attack down the left flank, with Pogba heavily involved again with a pass across the edge of the box to Martial.

The Frenchman still has plenty to do from there, but he does it brilliantly as he curls a fine striker into the top corner and past a helpless keeper.

Big cheer from all corners of the ground here as the referee Andre Marriner goes down after running into Pogba! As he gets back to his feet he awards the free kick to United, much to Everton's chagrin.

United have been a lot better in this second half, it must be said. Their first-half display was uninspiring, but they have been much better recently.

EVERTON SUBS: Double change for Everton as Aaron Lennon and James McCarthy replace Rooney and Bolasie.

SAVE! Good work from Pogba as he bursts through two challenges before showing dazzling footwork to beat Keane inside the box. Pogba then blasts an effort towards goal, but Pickford has his angles right and makes the save.

Almost another chance for United and Pogba, who is inches away from getting his head to Martial's cross. It would have been a simple finish, but Pogba just couldn't steer it home.

Just over 20 minutes remaining in this match now and Everton need to start showing some more attacking talent now if they are to get back into game. They have offered very little going forward so far.

Everton have taken points off some of the Premier League's biggest teams already this season, including in the Merseyside derby when they were on the back foot for the vast majority of the game, so Allardyce is unlikely to go too gung-ho at any point this evening.

CLOSE! Could that be the chance Everton have been waiting for? Holgate swings a cross into the box and Niasse is left completely unmarked in the middle. However, he cannot steer his header on target when he should have done better.

CHANCE! Everton are really pushing for the equaliser now! They are on the front foot again here and Davies goes for goal after being teed up by Holgate, only to see his effort blocked.

James McCarthy's introduction was booed by a section of the Everton fans, but he has gone into a couple of challenges strongly here which has really lifted the crowd.

MAN UTD SUB: Here is United's final change as Marcus Rashford replaces Martial.

SAVE! This is a brilliant stop from Pickford. Lingard drills a low strike towards goal which looks destined for the bottom corner but Pickford pulls off a stunning save to turn it around the post.

Just 10 minutes of normal time remaining in this match - can Everton salvage anything from this game?

That is game over! Jesse Lingard continues his fine goalscoring form with a beauty here, cutting inside from the left flank before curling an effort into the top corner, much like the Martial strike.

It looked like it may have taken a slight deflection on its way through, but Pickford may not have got there anyway.

EVERTON SUB: A third and final change for Everton sees Dominic Calvert-Lewin replace Niasse.

YELLOW CARD! Holgate becomes the latest name in the book for a cynical foul on Lingard.

This has not been the best Everton display by any stretch of the imagination. They have severely lacked quality in the final third and Sam Allardyce will no doubt use this as further evidence that his side need a new attacker.

MAN UTD SUB: United make their third change of the night as Lingard is replaced by Daley Blind.

There will be three minutes of added time at the end of this match.

CHANCE! Everton win a corner and Keane rises highest from the resulting delivery, planting his header narrowly wide.

MAN UTD SUB: United make their third and final change as Axel Tuanzebe replaces Mata.

Manchester United return to winning ways at Goodison Park, ending a run of three successive draws and a four-match winless streak across all competitions.

Second-half goals from Martial and Lingard are enough to fire United back up to second place in the table, while Everton fall to successive defeats for the first time under Sam Allardyce.

Right, that is all we have time for this evening!

Thank you very much for joining Sports Mole for today's match as Manchester United get 2018 off to a winning start with a 2-0 victory over Everton at Goodison. I will leave you with our match report, and be sure to stick around for reaction too. From me, though, it is goodbye for now!