Manchester United will attempt to continue their pursuit of the top four in the Premier League when they welcome an inconsistent Everton team to Old Trafford on Sunday afternoon.
Louis van Gaal's side put themselves back in the Champions League race with a 1-0 win over Manchester City last time out, but they will host an Everton team that have only lost once on their travels in the league this season.
Man United
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There is no question that it has been a disappointing season for Man United, but if Van Gaal can secure a top-four finish and deliver the FA Cup, there might well be grounds for the board to keep the Dutchman at the helm for the 2016-17 campaign.
April 13 will bring an FA Cup quarter-final replay against West Ham United, but Man United have two key league games before then - first welcoming Everton and then travelling to title challengers Tottenham Hotspur next weekend.
The derby victory over Man City kept Van Gaal's side in sixth, but they are now just one point off the top four and in the race for a Champions League finish, which seemed unlikely earlier this year. For all their struggles this season, the Red Devils have only been beaten twice at Old Trafford in the league and have the best defensive record on home soil - conceding just seven times in 14 matches.
Indeed, Man United are also looking to record a fourth successive home victory in the league for the first time since April last year, when they managed six in a row. It still seems likely that Van Gaal will depart this summer, but there is still a lot to play for in the final weeks as they prepare for a busy April.
As mentioned, they will visit Spurs next weekend, before facing back-to-back home league games against Aston Villa and Crystal Palace. Leicester City will then make the trip to Old Trafford, before facing Norwich City (A), West Ham (H) and Bournemouth (H) in their final three league games of the season.
The emergence of a number of youth-team players has been the success story for Man United this season and victory this weekend would certainly keep them in the race for the top four. They are actually also only five points off third-placed Arsenal, which is an indication of the type of campaign it has been in England's top flight.
Recent form: DLWWLW
Recent form (all competitions): WLLDDW
Everton
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Champions Chelsea have perhaps been the supreme underachievers this season, but Everton will run them close if they fail to enjoy a strong end to the campaign. The Toffees, on paper, have one of the stronger sides in the division, but the hard facts are that they are heading for another bottom-half finish, having ended last season in 11th position.
Head coach Roberto Martinez has been widely lauded for his open and expansive style of football which he implemented at Wigan Athletic, but Everton are actually just 12 points clear of the relegation zone and 13 points off the top four. Indeed, they have only won nine times in the league this season, drawing 11 and suffering nine defeats.
Scoring goals has not been a problem having hit 51 in the league this term, but a shaky defence has conceded 41 times and they will enter the match off the back of a 2-0 home defeat to Arsenal before the international break. At Goodison, they have really struggled this term - collecting just 16 points from 16 matches. Only Crystal Palace and Aston Villa have managed fewer points.
That is in contrast to their away form, however, which has been very strong. The Merseyside outfit have only lost once on their travels all season and that came at Arsenal back in October. They have drawn at both Chelsea and Man City, but still have Liverpool and Leicester to face on the road before the end of the campaign.
Everton are also the team waiting for either Man United or West Ham in the semi-finals of the FA Cup and while a trophy would be seen as a step forward, there is no getting away from the fact that it has been another underwhelming league season.
It will be a big summer for the Toffees as they prepare to spend big following investment, but the likes of Ross Barkley, John Stones and Romelu Lukaku will be transfer targets for a number of clubs. A Europa League finish seems too far away at this late stage of the campaign, but FA Cup success and a top-10 finish above the likes of Liverpool and Chelsea would take the pressure off Martinez.
Recent form: WWLWLL
Recent form (all competitions): LWWLWL
Team News
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At his pre-match press conference on Friday, Van Gaal revealed that skipper Wayne Rooney is "doing great" in his recovery from a knee problem, but the England captain will not be fit to face his former club this weekend.
Full-back Luke Shaw, who has been out for the last six months, has also returned to first-team training with the Red Devils, but will remain on the sidelines for this match alongside Ander Herrera and Ashley Young.
Bastian Schweinsteiger is also facing a lengthy spell on the sidelines after picking up a knee injury on international duty with Germany, but the likes of David de Gea, Matteo Darmian, Juan Mata, Memphis Depay and Anthony Martial have all returned to Manchester free from injury following their international exploits.
Marcus Rashford is expected to continue in the final third following his winning goal against Man City last time out, while Michael Carrick and Morgan Schneiderlin are favourites to start in the two central positions.
As for Everton, Stones and Bryan Oviedo are both fit to face the Red Devils, while Belgian attacker Kevin Mirallas has returned to the squad after serving a suspension.
Stones picked up a knock on England duty, while Oviedo has missed Everton's last two games with a chest infection. Stones could return to the heart of the defence, but Gareth Barry will miss out through a suspension of his own.
Lukaku, who has 18 league goals this season and six in his last seven games in all competitions, is also expected to start at centre-forward despite a whole host of speculation surrounding his future.
Man United possible starting lineup:
De Gea; Darmian, Smalling, Blind, Rojo; Carrick, Schneiderlin; Lingard, Mata, Martial; Rashford
Everton possible starting lineup:
Joel; Coleman, Stones, Jagielka, Baines; Besic, McCarthy; Cleverley, Barkley, Lennon; Lukaku
Head To Head
In all competitions, these two clubs have met on 193 occasions. Man United have 83 wins to their name, Everton 69, while the remaining 41 fixtures have ended the spoils shared.
Everton have also won four of the last seven Premier League meetings between the two teams, but have only won once at Old Trafford in their last 22 attempts, with that success coming in December 2013.
In terms of more recent history, Man United recorded a 2-1 victory in the corresponding league game last season and were also 3-0 winners when they made the trip to Goodison earlier this term.
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We say: Man United 1-1 Everton
On home soil, Man United will fancy their chances of recording all the points, but Everton are a tough nut to crack on their travels and Lukaku might well relish facing Daley Blind at centre-back. It would not be too much of a surprise if either team were to win due to the nature of this season, but we are backing a low-scoring draw, which suits neither side at this stage of the campaign.
Matt Law
