Season 2021-22 Opinion Talking Points Looking ahead to the Man Utd game - can Everton beat the Reds? by Gary McCarty | 29/03/2022 6 Comments [Jump to last] The upcoming Premier League showdown between Everton and Manchester United at Goodison Park would be a European six-pointer in normal circumstances.However, this season has been anything but ordinary for the Toffees as they face a fierce battle against the drop following a thoroughly disappointing domestic campaign.Before the season you could have bet with bonusbets.com and other bookmakers and gaming operators on Everton finishing in the top eight. Now, going into the crunch period of the 2021/22 season, Frank Lampard's men harbour a slim three-point lead on 18th-placed Watford. The magnitude of the task facing Everton is evident, but they can ill-afford to throw in the towel given they hold two games in hand on the Hornets. A sizeable list of concerns in Lampard's camp continues to grow as the underperforming Merseyside giants have a couple of high-profile fixtures coming up in April.One such match-up will bring top-four contenders Man United to Goodison for a high-stake encounter on April 9.Ralf Rangnick's side pulled off a massive 3-2 home win over Tottenham Hotspur last time out, snapping a run of two consecutive league matches without winning (D1, L1).However, the Red Devils already lag four points behind fourth-placed Arsenal, who also hold a game in hand. With their hopes of achieving a top-four finish for the third season running hanging by a thread, the Old Trafford outfit could prove a stern test.Pressured to get results amid growing speculation linking Ajax's Erik ten Hag with a summer takeover (via The Guardian), interim boss Rangnick will be seeking all three points in Merseyside. Unfortunately for Everton, the Red Devils have won both previous visits to Goodison in all competitions by a two-goal margin, including a 3-1 victory in this exact fixture last season.Man United have struggled with inconsistency on hostile turf in the past few months, picking up just two wins from their last six Premier League road trips (D3, L1).More importantly, Rangnick's men have proved easy to crack open during that six-game sequence, conceding an average of 1.83 goals per match.The German strategist seems to have lost control of his star-studded dressing room, as evidenced by recent talks suggesting Old Trafford homegrown star Marcus Rashford is keen to cut ties with Man United.According to Sky Sports, the lightning-fast forward is contemplating his future at the club in the wake of Gareth Southgate's decision to omit him from the England squad.In addition to Rashford, Bruno Fernandes' influence on the game has dwindled on the back of Cristiano Ronaldo's blockbuster return to Manchester.The Portuguese ace is not enjoying the best of times at the Theatre of Dreams, which could give Everton's hopes of staging an upset a massive boost. Lampard's side held United to a dramatic 1-1 draw in the reverse fixture, showing they can cope with one of the most intimidating Premier League rosters.With the Red Devils performing below expectations and facing a host of off-field distractions, this could be a perfect opportunity for Everton to post their first top-flight head-to-head win since April 2019. Return to Talking Points index : Add your Comments » Reader Comments (6) Note: the following content is not moderated or vetted by the site owners at the time of submission. Comments are the responsibility of the poster. Disclaimer Barry Hesketh 1 Posted 29/03/2022 at 18:30:23 Let's worry about the next match at West Ham and then possibly the most crucial game of the season at Turf Moor prior to the United match. Each and every game is important in our current position, and please don't write a tome about what could happen in the derby, at least until after the Leicester clash. Also what is the idea of linking to a betting site in your article? Tony Abrahams 2 Posted 29/03/2022 at 18:43:30 I remember seeing a picture of Martin Atkinson and a few of his refereeing colleagues in Dubai, with what looked like a few ladies of the night (Brasses).Now seeing that a lot of villains are currently located in Dubai, I wonder if one of the big mafia firms have done a Pat Geary on these refs, and are due to pocket fortunes if Everton are relegated? (What price was this in August?) Paranoid I know, but I'm not that interested in the Man Utd game, because we have two much bigger games before we play the Mancs. Danny O’Neill 3 Posted 29/03/2022 at 18:53:04 Why can't we beat them? It's a game of football.We can be on 31 points before we play them. So that would take us to 32 or 34 and on course. Barry Hesketh 4 Posted 30/03/2022 at 10:37:34 Unsure if it was already supposed to be shown live on Sky, but just read that the Burnley game will be shown live on sky in the UK on Wednesday, three games on the bounce live on either BT or Sky for us long-suffering Blues to watch. Brian Murray 5 Posted 30/03/2022 at 11:19:35 Barry. To use Spit the Dog's own words. Let's see it unravel as I'm eating a big bowl of popcorn. We are big news and Sky are desperate for a big name to go down. They smell blood along with our rivals. The urgency on here is not reflected by this team in any way. Will Mabon 7 Posted 09/04/2022 at 20:19:31 Gary - yes. Add Your Comments In order to post a comment, you need to be logged in as a registered user of the site. » Log in now Or Sign up as a ToffeeWeb Member — it's free, takes just a few minutes and will allow you to post your comments on articles and Talking Points submissions across the site. 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