Manchester United travel to Everton looking to continue their unbeaten run under Michael Carrick, and with a mind to redress their abysmal performance the last time they faced David Moyes’ men.

In the reverse leg at Old Trafford, Everton were down to 10 men in the 13th minute after a farcical fight between Idrissa Gueye and Michael Keane saw the former get sent off. United, then under the tutelage of Ruben Amorim, struggled to break them and a goal from Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall saw the visitors go home with three points after a shock 1-0 win.

United have looked a different team since Carrick’s arrival, though, and it will be interesting to see how David Moyes sets up against them as they return to action after nearly a fortnight without a game.

Here’s everything you need to know about Monday’s match:

How to watch

The match will be broadcast on Sky Sports Main Event and Premier League in the UK, USA Network in the U.S., Jio Hotstar in India and Stan Sport in Australia. You can also follow ESPN’s live coverage of the game.

Key Details

Kick-off time: Monday, Feb. 23 at 8.00 p.m. GMT (3 p.m. ET; 1.30 a.m. IST and 7.00 p.m. AEDT, Tuesday)

Venue: Hill Dickinson stadium

Referee: Darren England

VAR: Paul Howard

Injury News

Everton

Jack Grealish, M: OUT, foot
Jake O’Brien, D: OUT, suspended

Manchester United

Matthijs de Ligt, D: OUT, back
Mason Mount, M: DOUBT, knock
Patrick Dorgu, D/M: OUT, hamstring

Carl Recine/Getty ImagesTalking Points

Can United beat Everton’s low block?

United have won four and drawn one of the five matches that Carrick has overseen this season. The one draw came up against a team that sat back in a determined low block against West Ham last time out and Carrick will want to show that when faced with a setup such as this, he can coach the intricate patterns, and platform the creative players to express themselves in ways needed to break those down.

In this short period, we’ve seen Carrick’s abilities to set up the United team to highlight the strengths of the squad at his disposal and it will be interesting to see if he tweaks his front four around and replaces either Bryan Mbeumo or Cunha with the in-form Benjamin Sesko to give his side a more physical focal point. The game holds deeper significance for Carrick too, in a way that how he learns from West Ham draw will be seen by his higher ups as indicative of whether he can take the helm in the long term.

Could Everton push for Europe late on?

For a team in eighth, just three points behind the European spots, Everton have flown curiously under the radar. They’ve lost only one of their last six league games (a 2-1 home loss to Bournemouth last time around) and while not flamboyant, they’ve looked pretty solid in those games.

The issue, though, is that they rank only 14th on the xG table and while not an immediate worry these things have a way of catching up with you when least welcome. With leading assist provider Jack Grealish (6, three more than anyone else in the squad) out for the season, Moyes will need to get more from the likes of Iliman Ndiaye, Tyrique George, and most importantly perhaps Dewsbury-Hall. If they can step up, and Thierno Barry can rediscover his January scoring form, a push for the top seven is well within reach.

That could start with another big result against United on Monday night. As Moyes himself said at the pre-match presser: “We are not a team planning to fight relegation, we are a team trying to plan to challenge the teams in Europe and, to do that, we have to win some big games.”

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Bruno Fernandes is key for United

And in other news, water is wet. Restored to the advanced playmaking position where he is at his best, he’s been in sensational form under Michael Carrick. He leads the league with 12 assists (five of those since Ruben Amorim left), and 18 big chances created and now playing with the freedom that comes with the No. 10 role he looks as good as he ever has.

With a revolving trio of some combination of Cunha/Amad/Mbeumo/Sesko flitting in and out around him, Casemiro and Kobbie Mainoo providing solidity and constant forward passing behind him, and Carrick encouraging him to look for the more ambitious options where possible, there’s little doubt that he holds the key to breaking down what’s often been a stubborn Everton defence this season.

And he’s been in good form away from home this season: he has been involved in 10 goals in his last nine away Premier League appearances (2 goals, 8 assists).

Can Everton get better at home?

The answer has to be yes — it’d be hard to get worse. They’ve won just four of thirteen games at home this season (D4 L5) and are ranked 14th in the league based on home form. Contrast this to six wins away in thirteen (D3, L4) and being fifth-best team in the league away from home and you can see the issue. Goodison Park was often a tough ground to visit, thanks in no small part to the great history that surrounded it and Everton’s tendency to punch above their weight at home regardless of their position on the table.

That’s a spirit they’ll want to rediscover and transplant to the Hill Dickinson as soon as possible.

What do the numbers say?

Everton’s home form truly is quite bad — they have lost five of their last nine Premier League home games (W2 D2) — and that’s as many as as they had in their previous 28 (W12 D11).

Meanwhile, United are unbeaten in their last nine Prem games (W5 D4), their longest such run since a 14-game streak between January and May 2021.

This is not something you might have expected from this United side this season, but they have had more shots than any other side in the Prem this season (417). The last time they topped the shots charts at the end of a season was back in 2007-08

Carrick played 25 times in the league under Moyes during the 2013-14 campaign. When the two sides meet on Monday, Carrick will be the third person to have played under Moyes and then face him as manager in the Premier League (after Mikel Arteta and David Unsworth).