Everton poised to compound Man United’s poor away run

Manchester United face another stern test on the road when they visit Everton on Sunday, with the hosts looking to exploit the Red Devils’ shaky away form and extend their unbeaten start to the Premier League season.
Everton have made a solid start under their new campaign, picking up four points from their opening two games, while United have three points from the same number of matches.
The Toffees opened their campaign with a 2-0 home victory over Crystal Palace before playing out a 1-1 draw away to Bournemouth last weekend.
United, on the other hand, suffered a disappointing 2-0 defeat at Hull City on the opening day before responding in style with a 5-2 demolition of Ipswich Town at Old Trafford.
The question now is whether Ruben Amorim’s men can reproduce that attacking form away from home.
Everton will certainly fancy their chances, having conceded just once in their first two league games. Their defensive solidity could make life difficult for a United attack that will need to be more clinical if they are to leave Merseyside with all three points.
The hosts will also be boosted by the form of Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, who already has one goal and six chances created this season. Iliman Ndiaye has also contributed four chances and an assist, while Thierno Barry provides another threat in attack.
United will look to Bruno Fernandes for inspiration. The Portuguese midfielder has already scored three goals from 11 shots this season and remains the focal point of the visitors’ attack.
Bryan Mbeumo has also impressed, registering nine shots and four chances created in the opening two matches, while Marcus Rashford and Matheus Cunha will provide further attacking options.
Everton, however, will be without Christian Norgaard, while United have no fresh injury concerns.
The encounter could be decided by the battle between Everton’s disciplined defence and United’s attacking firepower.
While Everton have shown they can be difficult to break down, United’s 5-2 win over Ipswich demonstrated the damage they can cause when their forwards find their rhythm.
The Red Devils will therefore have to avoid another poor away performance after their embarrassing defeat at Hull.
For Everton, victory would send a strong message that they are ready to compete strongly this season. For United, another defeat on the road could raise fresh questions about their consistency and ability to challenge near the top of the table.
With little separating the two sides on the table, Sunday’s encounter could go down to the finest margins.