Moyes Faces Former Club Whilst Toffees Hoping For Five Wins From Six Games

David Moyes hosts his former club Manchester United at Goodison Park on Saturday, 22nd February, at 12:30, with both clubs currently on different sides of the spectrum in terms of recent form.

The Scottish manager joined Manchester United after Sir Alex Ferguson, one of, if not the best manager ever for the Red Devils, decided it was time to leave the club following 21 years of glory winning 38 major trophies, including 13 Premier League titles, 5 FA Cups, 4 EFL Cups, 2 UEFA Champions Leagues, 1 UEFA Cup Winners Cup, 1 UEFA Super Cup, 1 FIFA Club World Cup, 1 Intercontinental Cup, and 10 FA Community Shields.

The change of managers turned out to be a disaster for Manchester United. Moyes caused United to have an awful season for their expectations, losing out on Champions League for the first time in multiple seasons, finishing 7th in the 2023-24 season. The home form was a tragedy too, losing 6 games on the bounce at Old Trafford. Ultimately, it wasn't long before David Moyes' reign at the Red Devils came to an end, as only 10 months into a lengthy 6-year contract, Moyes was sacked. Since the departure of Sir Alex Ferguson, United have had 6 managers, with the current gaffer, Ruben Amorim, not emerging as a complete success, and with Old Trafford becoming outdated, as well as issues behind the scenes, Manchester United have been struggling.

United currently sit in 15th place in the Premier League table, winning only 8 games this season, out of 25; that is a 32% win rate for the Red Devils, completely unacceptable. The last Premier League match was also against struggling Tottenham Hotspur. Although both sides are poor defensively, Spurs' backline was notably stronger, and with help from James Maddison, who followed up from a poor save from Andre Onana to score the only goal of the game, marking a 1-0 win over Manchester United on Sunday, 16th February. The result confirmed United's 15th place, at least until the next set of fixtures, due to the Everton result the day before.

The day before, Everton travelled to the South to face Crystal Palace, looking to build on the recent form. Luckily, goals from Beto and new signing Carlos Alcaraz, as well as an extremely disciplined defensive performance after the Blues' second goal, as Oliver Glasner's side were bombarding Moyes' backline up to and including stoppage time, gave the Toffees the three points in a 2-1 win, maintaining an impressive recent form.

One man who has been ripping teams apart recently for the Toffees is the Portuguese man Beto, who scored against Palace. Since Moyes has taken over and Calvert-Lewin has been injured, Beto has transformed into a goalscorer, perhaps prioritising above Everton's number 9. In Moyes' pre-match press conference, the gaffer stated that "if we'd bought a striker and paid big money for him, and he'd scored four in three starts, you'd say 'wow.' Beto has been given a big opportunity, and he's stood up and taken it. He's improved in the games as he's gone along; sometimes players need these opportunities. So, let's hope it continues, and let's hope he can keep scoring."

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Beto Stats Since David Moyes Appointment:

Appearances: 5

Goals: 4

Assists: 0

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Also in Moyes' press conference, it was good news that there have been no fresh injury concerns, which is amazing as we're really short of numbers here—we've got nine or 10 players out injured." The Scotsman also said that "We've got them [Carlos Alcaraz and Abdoulaye Doucoure] both fit at the moment. That gives us a decision to make. I'll need both of them." One of the large number of players injured for Everton is Ndiaye, with Moyes explaing that "There was some good news about Iliman Ndiaye: "Ili has been taking injections and we're quite positive that he's working hard to get back quickly, so we're hoping we can get him back maybe before the time we thought."

It is a similar story for Man United too. Throughout the week, it has been confirmed that Kobbie Maino, who has played a huge part in Manchester United's season, will be out injured until the end of March due to picking up a calf injury in training. As well, another key player, Amad Diallo, will be injured until the end of the season, also picking up an injury in training. Diallo has been the top goalscorer under Amorim, and without him and others, such as Lisandro Martinez, Luke Shaw, and Mason Mount. Although injured, Amorim has stated that he hopes to have Ugarte, Eriksen, and Leny Yoro back and possibly fit to feature at Goodison.

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Amad Diallo Statement:

“Extremely disappointed to be writing this message in such a crucial time of the season."

“Unfortunately, I will be out for some time with an injury."

“I will come back stronger than ever!! Time to support the boys from the outside. Still loads to play for.”

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Premier League Gameweek 26:

Friday 21st February:

Leicester City 20:00 Brentford

Saturday 22nd February:

Everton 12:30 Man United

Arsenal 15:00 West Ham

Bournemouth 15:00 Wolves

Fulham 15:00 Crystal Palace

Ipswich Town 15:00 Spurs

Southampton 15:00 Brighton

Aston Villa 17:30 Chelsea

Sunday 23rd February:

Newcastle 14:00 Nottingham Forest

Man City 16:30 Liverpool

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Thank you for reading my pre-match article!