Table-topping Manchester United will look to continue their unbeaten start to the Premier League season when they host Everton at Old Trafford on Sunday.
The match will see United's record goalscorer Wayne Rooney return to his former club for the first time since his summer switch to the Toffees, and the ex-England skipper will be looking to help improve his new side's fortunes following a disappointing start to the season.
Manchester United
© OffsideThere is sure to be a hero's welcome for Rooney when he steps out onto the Old Trafford pitch again this weekend as the United fans welcome back a player who scored a club-record 253 times in 559 appearances, in addition to lifting every piece of silverware available to him.
The 31-year-old's time at the club came to what felt like a natural end during the summer, and while the fans will never forget his contributions during his 13-year stay, right now they will be focused on their newest striking superstar.
Romelu Lukaku moved in the opposite direction during the summer, and the Belgian has hit the ground running following his arrival from Goodison Park with six goals in as many appearances for the club.
Lukaku was on the scoresheet again as United made a triumphant return to the Champions League in midweek with a 3-0 win over Basel, although even that did not leave manager Jose Mourinho fully content as he accused his side of playing "Playstation football" at times.
Mourinho's attempts to curtail any signs of excess flair from his side reinforce the view that he is solely focused on creating an effective - and most importantly winning - machine this season.
United boast one of the tallest and strongest sides in the Premier League and, while they are capable of playing football which is easy on the eye, Mourinho has left them in no doubt that the main requirement is to pick up all three points.
It is something which has proved successful in the early stages of this season; United have won four and drawn one of their last five outings across all competitions, keeping clean sheets in each of those victories to leave them top of the table after four Premier League games.
The only blemish on their record so far came in their last league outing, though, as the Red Devils could only manage a 2-2 draw away to Stoke City en route to their first dropped points of the season.
At home, United have been perfect so far this term, though, with three wins from three, nine goals scored and none conceded, and it is now over a year since Mourinho last tasted defeat in front of his own fans - a 33-match run which includes 22 wins and 11 draws.
Recent Premier League form: WWWD
Recent form (all competitions): LWWWDW
Everton
© OffsideIt is safe to say that the 2017-18 season has not gone as planned so far for Ronald Koeman and Everton.
A summer of ambitious transfer activity which put them among the Premier League's highest spenders raised expectations that the Toffees might be capable of challenging the top six this term, but instead they find themselves in the bottom five ahead of this weekend's match.
It is still very early days in the Premier League season, of course, but the signs so far have been worrying for Everton fans.
Having edged past Stoke City on the opening day of the season and done enough to qualify for the Europa League group stages at the expense of Hajduk Split, Everton have since failed to win any of their last five games across all competitions.
Granted, it has been a difficult start for Koeman's side, who after this weekend will have faced four of last season's top six in their opening five league games, but it is that level of competition which Everton aspire to be involved in and the evidence at this stage proves that they still have some way to go.
A 1-1 draw away to Manchester City - in which they were only denied all three points by a late equaliser - was respectable enough, but Everton are now on a three-match losing streak during which they have conceded eight times and failed to score a single goal.
The 2-0 loss away to champions Chelsea last month was not exactly an anomaly of a result, but back-to-back 3-0 defeats since the international break - at home to Tottenham Hotspur and away to Atalanta in the Europa League - have been coupled with woefully underwhelming performances that should raise alarm bells for Koeman.
Thursday's display away to Atalanta was particularly disappointing, and even taking into account the quality of opposition his side face this weekend, Koeman will be demanding a reaction from his side.
Should the Toffees not produce a result at Old Trafford then they could end the weekend in the relegation zone, while their struggles in front of goal mean that only the league's bottom two of Bournemouth and Crystal Palace - both of whom are yet to pick up a point this season - have scored fewer.
Recent Premier League form: WDLL
Recent form (all competitions): WDDLLL
Team News
© OffsideManchester United's triumphant return to Champions League action did come at a cost, with Paul Pogba picking up a thigh injury which is expected to keep him sidelined for more than a month.
Everton old boy Marouane Fellaini replaced Pogba and scored against Basel, and he is expected to start against his former club having been showered with praise by Mourinho recently.
The United boss has already confirmed that Eric Bailly and Phil Jones will return to the starting lineup having missed out in midweek due to suspension, which is likely to see Victor Lindelof and Chris Smalling drop out.
Everton are still without long-term absentees Ross Barkley (hamstring), Ramiro Funes Mori (knee), Yannick Bolasie (knee) and Seamus Coleman (broken leg), while the game could also come too soon for James McCarthy.
Morgan Schneiderlin will join Rooney in returning to Old Trafford having made 47 appearances for United before being shipped out by Mourinho.
Koeman is likely to make sweeping changes from his midweek side as the likes of Jordan Pickford, Cuco Martina, Ashley Williams, Idrissa Gueye, Davy Klaassen and Sandro Ramirez push for recalls.
Man Utd possible starting lineup:
De Gea; Valencia, Bailly, Jones, Darmian; Matic, Fellaini, Mata, Mkhitaryan, Rashford; Lukaku
Everton possible starting lineup:
Pickford; Keane, Williams, Jagielka; Holgate, Davies, Gueye, Schneiderlin, Baines; Sigurdsson, Rooney
Head To Head
Man United are unbeaten in their last five meetings with Everton across all competitions since a 3-0 defeat at Goodison Park in April 2015.
The Red Devils have lost just one of their last 24 home games against the Toffees too, winning 18 of those in a run which stretches back to the opening month of the inaugural Premier League season.
Both meetings last season ended in a 1-1 draw, the most recent of which saw Zlatan Ibrahimovic rescue a point from the penalty spot in stoppage time after Phil Jagielka had opened the scoring at Old Trafford.
We say: Man Utd 2-0 Everton
Manchester United have made a very confident start to the season and they are coming up against an Everton side in dreadful form without a point or a goal from their last three fixtures. Everton's team contains plenty of players capable of hurting United, but this should still be a fairly routine home win for Mourinho's men.
