Next Up: Man Utd vs Everton

So what can we make of the next Premier League game for Everton, following another invasive international break where whatever momentum we had in pushing Sunderland to a 1-1 draw has been lost because it now seems so long ago? 

And the wait will seem even longer as Everton's match at Manchester United has been selected for end-to-end coverage by Sky Sports on Monday Night Football. 

There was a claim made last time that The Blues never seem to win when we appear on MNF. Of course you could be forgiven for thinking that, but I phoned a friend who assured me that it's marginal: 7 Wins, 6 Draws, and 8 Losses in 21 games broadcast live on Sky Sports' Monday Night Football.

So what can we expect as David Moyes returns to one of his old stomping grounds (where sadly, he was the one getting stomped on by players and fans alike as his tenure at Man Utd trying to fill Sir Alex Ferguson's shoes proved a thankless and ultimately humiliating assignment).

Who can forget the haunting image of The Grim Reaper in the crowd behind David Moyes at Goodison Park just days before the end?

Sorry, it's not really relevant to next Monday's challenge, where David Moyes has been returned to his rightful place in charge of plucky little Everton, rather than the rarified heights of managerial ambition in charge of one of The Most Famous Clubs In The World. 

Ruben Amorin has had it rough there too... but he seems to have survived to the point where things have turned around for Manchester Utd, who used to sit below Everton in the Premier League table earlier this season.

But now the natural order has been restored, what, if anything, can David Moyes do to upset this particular applecart?    

We've talked ad nauseam about the striker conundrum, with Thierno Barry perhaps showing a little more of what's required up front in the Premier League... but still yet to score. 

Idrissa Gana Gueye and Iliman Ndiaye may be energized or exhausted by their efforts on the international stage; likewise Jake O'Brien and Seamus Coleman, with Moyes likely to use the quartet as normal given the extra day or two of rest and recovery the match schedule allows.

Tyler Dibling has done nothing to enhance his chances of playing, with Aznou and Alcaraz continuing to be marginalised on the bench as unused sub, so it's really hard to see much changing for this encounter. 

The Matchday Officials for the game have been announced by the Premier League, and Tony Harrington has been appointed referee for the clash at Old Trafford.

Harrington has shown 26 yellow cards to Everton players in nine matches across all competitions that he has refereed -- more than for any other Premier League club. So this must mean we go into the game with the referee already biased in favour of the home side? Well, nothing new there, methinks!

All to play for, we hope, under the beady eyes of the biased officials and Sky Sports presenters and pundits. Ho hum.

 

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