Manchester United head into Sunday’s Premier League fixture at Everton’s Hill Dickinson Stadium buoyed by a 5-2 demolition of Ipswich in their opening corner of the new season, but manager Michael Carrick is under no illusions about the task facing his squad in a Merseyside which starts the campaign with more questions than answers.
United put their efforts into rebuilding Carrick’s midfield following the departure of Casemiro and a serious injury to Manuel Ugarte, offsetting the blow with the acquisitions of Andrey Santos, Youri Tielemans and Carlos Baleba for a combined 155 million pounds. The investment, while substantial, looks modest beside the sums raced into by rival clubs this summer — Manchester City broke the British transfer record for Enzo Fernandez while Liverpool splashed up to 123 million pounds on Bradley Barcola from Paris Saint-Germain. Carrick returned to Old Trafford as full-time manager after two spells as interim coach and has been working within financial constraints that he has been candid about from the outset.
“We went into the window wanting to come out stronger from the group that we had last season. We’ve definitely added to that,” Carrick told a pre-match media conference. “I think we’ve done a lot of good work in that respect and the situation is what it is in terms of finances and what we can work with and what we’re trying to get the most of.”
He added that he was “absolutely delighted” with the players brought into the group and insisted the new signings had already made an impression even before their competitive debuts.
Uncertainties on both sides
United look particularly short in defence, with the injury-prone Luke Shaw their only senior option at left-back. Shaw faces a late fitness test ahead of Sunday’s match alongside Mason Mount and Tom Heaton, while Carlos Baleba’s ankle continues to prevent his United debut. Manuel Ugarte, Amad Diallo and Matthijs de Ligt are all sidelined with injuries.
“what squad ever is the perfect squad? You’ve always got to find ways of adapting,” Carrick said. “When you’re building and trying to push to go through a period where we’re trying to get to the top — that’s the ultimate goal — you’ve got to make steps.”
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At Everton, David Moyes is grappling with the aftermath of a frustrating transfer window in which key players departed and a last-ditch pursuit of American striker Folarin Balogun collapsed at the deadline after the player pulled out of a late medical. Everton raised concerns over Balogun’s health late on deadline day, according to AS Monaco chief executive Thiago Scuro, and the US international opted out because he was uncomfortable with the doubts raised by the Merseyside club over his condition.
Moyes expressed frustration at his club’s close-season business, admitting they did not want to lose a lot of the players but acknowledging that circumstances forced their hand. “I know what I needed and I know what it’s like to build a squad for the Premier League. I know the numbers you need. I’ve been around long enough to know that, but some things went against us and some things could have gone better,” he told reporters on Friday.
Moyes conceded that Everton’s squad is now thin, raising questions about whether academy players can step up. “Are they ready to make the step up? I’m not sure about that. We will see how that goes, some of them might be pushed in. They’re all going to have to be able to muck in as we’ve got a real small squad now.”
Form and history on United’s side
United will take confidence from a 5-2 thrashing of newly-promoted Hull City in their second group game, powered by a Bruno Fernandes hat-trick, after a dreadful 2-0 opening-day defeat at the hands of Hull. That first-week slip-up now looks like an outlier rather than a portent, though the team must prove they can reproduce that attacking fluency against a side that will be looking to frustrate and absorb.
The two sides have met 216 times in competitive football, with United winning 97 of those encounters and Everton 69 — the first meeting came in 1892 with Everton winning the English top flight encounter 6-0 and completing the double with a 4-3 away win. In more recent memory, United were 1-0 winners in February at Hill Dickinson Stadium thanks to a Benjamin Sesko goal after 71 minutes, while Everton won 1-0 at Old Trafford last season despite being reduced to ten men early on through a red card for Idrissa Gueye.
Opta’s supercomputer gives Everton a 38.3 per cent chance of winning Sunday’s fixture, with United awarded a 33.3 per cent probability — suggesting a tight, potentially drawish encounter rather than a clear favourite. Jack Grealish is set to come straight into Everton’s matchday squad following his deadline-day loan from Manchester City, while Ainsley Maitland-Niles could also feature following his September move after leaving Arsenal. Christian Norgaard misses out with a knock.
Joshua Zirkzee was among those expected to leave Old Trafford to boost the funds available to Carrick, with interest from Fiorentina and Juventus and a deadline-day approach from Everton, but the Dutchman remains at United despite limited game time over the past two seasons. Carrick said Zirkzee “wants to play more than he has done” and that his presence offered “good competition and healthy competition for places”.
Why it matters
This fixture is a barometer for two clubs in very different season-openers. United have found a second wind after a dreadful start and Carrick is clear about the ambition to “get to the top”, but defensively they remain fragile and Baleba’s absence deprives them of the midfield engine they paid dearly to secure. Everton’s small squad and thin transfer business leave them exposed to the physical demands of a trip to a ferocious Goodison Park, and Moyes knows his academy players will need to step up in a way that could reset several careers.
The gap between the two clubs’ financial firepower is stark, yet on the pitch the optic is often closer than the balance sheets suggest. Sunday’s result will be watched for signs of whether United’s summer business has genuinely strengthened the spine of the team and whether Everton’s leaner roster can hold its own against one of England’s bigger names.
What happens next
Kick-off is scheduled for 2pm on Sunday at Hill Dickinson Stadium in Liverpool. Both squads will be confirmed at the customary pre-match press conference on Saturday, and Carrick and Moyes will be questioned on fitness updates for Shaw, Mount, Heaton, Dalot and the injured players. If Baleba remains sidelined, United’s midfield options narrow considerably and Carrick may have to turn to players he has been reluctant to use. A win for either side would shift the early-season narrative, while a stalemate would give both managers something to build on and something to fret about.
Source: Al Jazeera — Everton vs Manchester United: Premier League prediction, teams, lineups, 5 September 2026.
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