Manchester United vs Everton - as it happened: Jose Mourinho's men consign Toffees to fourth straight defeat
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Your support makes all the difference.Manchester United welcome Wayne Rooney back to Old Trafford after returning to boyhood club Everton this summer.
Jose Mourinho’s side have lost their spot at the top of the league after Manchester City’s 6-0 rout of Watford yesterday so will be looking to put in an assertive performance against the Toffees today.
Paul Pogba will be absent from United’s starting XI after injuring his hamstring. Everton, on the other hand, have no new injury concerns for the clash.
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What time does it start?
Kick-off is at 4.00pm on Sunday 17 September at Old Trafford.
Where can I watch it?
The game is being broadcast on Sky Sports Premier League and Sky Sports Main Event. Coverage starts at 3.30pm.
It’s a big game for?
Wayne Rooney. The Manchester United legend returns to the club where he made his name after 13 long years of service. The forward has a job to do today but it’s bound to be an emotional affair for him. The Old Trafford crowd should welcome him with open arms on his return, though it’ll be interesting to see how they react should he score.
Player to watch?
Romelu Lukaku. The former Everton striker faces up against his old club, too, but his reception is unlikely to match that of Rooney’s. Everton have shipped six goals in their last two games so the Belgian will be confident he can add to his goalscoring tally today against a side that doesn't look as if its spent around £150m on new players this summer.
Head-to-head?
Manchester United 1 Everton 1, Premier League, April 2017
Everton 1 Manchester United 1, Premier League, December 2016
Everton 1 Manchester United 2, FA Cup, April 2016
Form?
Manchester United: WDWWW
Everton: LLLDD
Odds?
Manchester United to win: 1/3
Draw: 4/1
Everton to win: 9/1
On the subject of options, how impressive is this compared to the dreariness of last season?
19 mins: A swift move sees Lukaku slip a pass behind Phil Jagielka for Marcus Rashford to chase. The young England striker is on to it in a flash, but so too is Michael Keane who stops the forward in his tracks with an expert tackle.
21 mins: A sight of goal for Wayne Rooney! Cuco Martina bursts into space - far too much space - down the right flank and has time to pick out his pass. He opts for Rooney, arriving on the edge of the box, but the striker's eventual shot is pulled across David de Gea and travels a yard wide of the far post. It's the kind of opportunity that Everton can't really afford to pass up if they are to get something - anything - from this game.
26 mins: Lukaku! How has he missed?! The striker doesn't know, the fans don't know and Jose Mourinho certainly doesn't know. The former Everton man latched on to Keane's misdirected pass, saw off the challenges of Ashley Williams and Phil Jagielka to find himself one-on-one with Pickford. With everyone expecting the net to ripple, Lukaku clipped his shot over the goalkeeper but well wide of the post.
29 mins: Everton are showing that while United's lead remains at one goal, they are still in this game and capable of causing problems. The offside flag was raised on their latest attack, but De Gea wasn't to know that as he threw himself low to brilliantly block Tom Davies' diving header. Gylfi Sigurdsson eventually squeezed the rebound into the net, but by that point everyone had stopped playing.
34 mins: Marcus Rashford tries to forge a chance for himself, dribbling in on the left flank, but he is crowded out by Jagielka, Williams and the excellent Idrissa Gueye.
38 mins: Jagielka and Pickford combine to deny Lukaku a shot after Rashford had played a smart pass behind the Everton defence. The gut-busting run and lunge from the veteran defender was enough to pull his hamstring, suggests Gary Neville. In which case, and considering Lukaku's level of finishing against his former club, he probably shouldn't have bothered.
43 mins: Jagielka left this one, and Everton are thanking their lucky stars that he did. If you could pause time during Juan Mata's delicate chip into the box, you would scream own-goal because it looked for all the world that Jagielka was about to nod the ball over his goalkeeper, who had come rushing off his line. At the final second, the defender ducked for Pickford to claim the ball, albeit at the second time of asking.
45 mins: There will be a minimum of one minute to be played at the end of the first half.
HALF-TIME - MANCHESTER UNITED 1 EVERTON 0:
Andre Marriner makes a mockery of the term 'minimum' and blows up after 45 minutes and 53 seconds.
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