Everton ‘owe Manchester United one’ as ‘brilliant’ observation made at Goodison
Everton will look to ride the wave when they host Manchester United at Goodison Park in the Premier League on Saturday.
Considering Everton were battling relegation under Sean Dyche, not many would have expected to see them sit above Manchester United in the Premier League at any point this season.
However, six games into David Moyes’ tenure, the Toffees are placed 14th in the table, sitting a point above the Red Devils.
The two clubs have had contrasting results since the turn of the year and the Goodison Park outfit could now rub salt in Ruben Amorim’s wounds by handing him another defeat on 22 February.
Michael Ball previews Everton v Manchester United
Michael Ball is of the view that the Blues need to get one over on United as they often pick up the wins in fixtures between them and reckons Moyes and Co have the opportunity to do so, with Saturday’s visitors struggling for form.
The ex-Everton defender, though, warned the Merseyside-based club of the “world-class” players in the Red Devils’ ranks and stressed the need for Moyes’ players to show the same commitment and desire they have been showing in recent weeks.
He also observed that Everton are now closer to a European place than the relegation zone and lauded their “fantastic” run of form.
“Manchester United are having a season of struggle and we’ve gone above them in the table”, Ball wrote in his column on Liverpool Echo‘s website (18 February).
“They always seem to get results against us though so we owe them one.
“They’ve still got world-class players who can hurt you but we’ve got to show that same commitment and desire we’ve been displaying under Moyes.
“We started well against them at Old Trafford but once they got their first goal we dipped and they ran away with the game, forcing the issue and catching us on the counter attack.
“United can hurt you but given how much they’ve spent and the expectation levels, the pressure is all on them because of where they are in the table. Can we keep that pressure up?
“We’re now closer to a European place than we are to the relegation zone, which is brilliant to talk about and we can start looking at the table and wondering which teams we might catch, rather than looking over our shoulders.
“The form is fantastic but the challenge ahead is still hugely important.”
David Moyes eyes Manchester United upset at Goodison Park
A win against Manchester United on Saturday could see Everton go as high as 12th place in the table and steer them further clear of the relegation zone.
Moyes and Co certainly have the opportunity to do that as the Old Trafford outfit have won only one of their last four Premier League games.
However, as Ball mentioned, the Red Devils always tend to pick up points against the Toffees regardless of their form.
United have emerged victorious in each of their six meetings across all competitions with the Merseyside club, whose last win in the fixture came in April 2022.
Everton, therefore, need to be at the top of their game to claim all three points against a vulnerable United side this time.