A reminder of Manchester United’s situation with their attackers. Bryan Mbeumo and Amad Diallo will depart for Afcon in the next few weeks, by which time Sesko might be back. Might.
Matheus Cunha appears is injured, although it is not exactly clear what has happened. The Brazilian had been due to turn on the Christmas lights in Altrincham on Saturday evening. But the organisers wrote on Facebook that “Unfortunately, Matheus Cunha has had an accident in training today and will not be able to attend tonight’s Christmas Lights Switch on in Altrincham due to medical reasons.” More breaking news from the Facebook pages of Altrincham, when we have it.
Joe Keggin emails: “My favourite moment from this fixture – and maybe any – was Duncan Ferguson’s winner in 2005 at a feral Goodison. My season ticket was right behind the Gwladys Street goal, and I can still see that ball in from Arteta and the chaos afterwards.”
Here’s what Moyes had to say on his return to Old Trafford.
Joshua Zirkzee hasn’t started a match for Amorim all season, but due to the injuries to Sesko and Cunha, gets a chance to impress here. Just his sixth appearance of the season in all competitions.
Séamus Coleman, similarly, has been starved of club football but given he is 37, that is maybe not a huge surprise. The right back, however, did play all 90+ minutes of Republic of Ireland’s historic win in Hungary and that has maybe convinced David Moyes to hand Coleman his first start in over two months.
Elsewhere, it’s more or less what you would expect from either side. United line up with their 3-4-3 or 3-5-2, Everton in their 4-2-3-1.
Manchester United: Lammens, Yoro, de Ligt, Shaw, Mazraoui, Casemiro, Fernandes, Dorgu, Diallo, Mbeumo, Zirkzee.
Subs: Bayindir, Dalot, Martinez, Mount, Malacia, Ugarte, Heaven, Mainoo, Lacey.
Everton: Pickford, Garner, Tarkowski, Keane, Mykolenko, Coleman, Gueye, Ndiaye, Dewsbury-Hall, Grealish, Barry.
Subs: Travers, King, McNeil, Beto, O’Brien, Dibling, Alcaraz, Aznou, Iroegbunam.
This one has a bit of a nostalgic feel, like some sort of sepia ITV fever dream with Clive Tyldesley and Andy Townsend on comms (unfortunately you’ll have to make do with me). Maybe it’s because it’s Old Trafford under the lights and the distant memories of those palatial Champions League evenings or maybe it’s just because Manchester United and Everton are two of England’s grandest clubs that share so many merged memories that bridge matches, players and moments (the first things that come to mind: Paul Rideout at Wembley, Wayne Rooney and Phil Neville, Alejandro Garnacho’s bicycle kick, Steven Pienaar’s equaliser in the 4-4 draw that proved to be a decisive moment in the 2012 title race). Do get in touch with your favourite moments from this fixture, or in general: michael.butler@theguardian.com.
Yes, this is a fixture rooted in the past but both clubs are entering new eras. Following over a decade of banter years, United are beginning to emerge into something approaching respectability. Of course, by the standards of Busby and Ferguson, they are still lightyears away from what might be deemed acceptable but there are green shoots under Ruben Amorim. United could possibly go fourth with a victory here, could they force their way into the reckoning for the top four come the end of the season? That would be a sizeable achievement.
New stadium and an old manager, Everton are another team in flux. Nobody is quite sure how far this team can go under David Moyes, anywhere and everything from a relegation battle to European qualification remains a possibility. That’s quite an exciting and enticing thing for Everton fans. It would be a surprise but not a shock for them to leave Manchester with all three points today, even if a win today would represent just a second victory at United in 32 years. In 17 attempts Moyes has never won at Old Trafford and was in the home dugout when Everton last won here in 2013.
It’s all set up to be a cracker.
Kick-off: 8pm GMT.
