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2023/24 English Premier League
Matchday 13
Everton v Manchester United
Tottenham Hotspur Stadium
London, England
Sunday, 26 November 2023
Kick-off is at 16h30
Manchester United would do well not to underestimate Everton when they square off at Goodison Park on Sunday, November 26 in the late kick-off.
The Toffees suddenly find themselves in the relegation zone after being deducted 10 points on Friday, November 17 for a breach of Financial Fair Play (FFP) regulations.
Sean Dyche's side had managed to steer nine points clear of trouble after beating Crystal Palace 3-2 at Selhurst Park on matchday 12 to extend their unbeaten run to three games.
However, the Merseysiders are now two points adrift of safety in 19th place as a result of the biggest points deduction handed out in
Premier League history.
Their form is by far better than the teams around them, with rock-bottom Burnley having lost five games on the spin and Sheffield United (18th) picking up four points from their last two outings after going winless in their opening 10 fixtures.
Alamy Stock Photo
The results are improving for United if not their performances after a 1-0 victory over Luton at Old Trafford last time out was their fourth win in five games.
The Red Devils are slowing clawing their way up the standings and sit just five points outside the UEFA Champions League places in sixth position.
Erik ten Hag's side climbed above Newcastle (7th) and Brighton (8th) are they both dropped points on matchday 12, while gaining more ground on Tottenham (4th), who suffered a second successive defeat.
Vitaliy Mykolenko has earned the trust of Dyche this season after starting the last eight games at left-back, having found himself on the bench for the opening four encounters of the season. The Ukraine international repaid the manager's faith in him by scoring in successive matches against the Seagulls and the Eagles and he'll fancy a third when a leaky United defence arrive at Goodison Park.
Alamy Stock Photo
Scott McTominay is playing an increasingly important role for the Red Devils as Casemiro continues to struggle in the middle of the park, while Sofyan Amrabat is still getting used to the rigours of English football. The Scotland international hardly featured under Ten Hag at the start of the campaign, but is getting more and more game-time since scoring a match-winning brace against Brentford.
Dyche believes that Everton are finally learning how to win games and pointed to their performance against palace as an example of finding other ways to achieve victory.
"We are locking in a mentality. I know we can play better than today. We can deal with the ball better. Particularly in the second half, we got a bit confused with how we were trying to affect the game with the ball," he told evertontv.
"But the resilience and mentality is growing all the time. The Evertonians can see that with the ability to win games. I said to the team when we got here, we have to learn to win. Everyone talks about styles, but you have to win.
"The team are finding different ways to win. Today was a brilliant example of that, without being fluid or near to our early season form where we played very well. Without that, still finding the grit, determination and hard yards to get the win today. That is really pleasing."
Ten Hag acknowledged United could have put the game to bed earlier against the Hatters, but praised his players for fighting to the end to come away with all three points.
"Of course, we are pleased with the win. We could have made life easier if we had scored earlier on. We created a lot of chances but it takes a long time to score for the first time and we couldn't get the second," the Dutchman said.
"It's always difficult when you get to the end and the opponent smells it, and one ball in the box can change the result of the game. So we had to fight to the end and so compliment to the team."
Head-to-Head (Last Five Premier League Meetings)
Matches - 5
Everton - 1
Man United - 2
Draws - 2
Premier League Matchday 13 fixtures:
Saturday, November 25
12h30: Manchester City v Liverpool
15h00: Burnley v West Ham United
15h00: Luton Town v Crystal Palace
15h00: Newcastle United v Chelsea
15h00: Nottingham Forest v Brighton & Hove Albion
15h00: Sheffield United v Bournemouth
17h30: Brentford v Arsenal
Sunday, November 26
14h00: Tottenham Hotspur v Aston Villa
16h30: Everton v Manchester United
Monday, November 27
20h00: Fulham v Wolverhampton Wanderers
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