Van Gaal: “Man United have to behave like champions”

Also to improve yourself, to be, in the future, the champion.

United was dismantled 3-0 at Goodison in April as Van Gaal was handed a reminder of the size of his rebuilding task, but Martinez is not paying much attention to previous meetings.

The arrivals of Bastian Schweinsteiger and Morgan Schneiderlin, coupled with the continued presence of the evergreen Michael Carrick, has substantially expanded Louis van Gaal’s midfield options.

The Catalan has also offered his views on where the best position to play Barkley is, with the debate still raging.

Prediction: I see this game ending in a draw, my prediction is a 1-1 scoreline. Everton have looked solid and hard to break down, having lost just one of their first eight encounters and recorded three clean sheets along the way, a total that only United, Arsenal, Manchester City and West Brom have bettered. Van Gaal, 64, was pleased with the defenders performance for England in midweek and hinted he could play him whenever he is ready.

However, van Gaal revealed in Friday’s press conference, relayed through United’s official website, that winger Ashley Young will be unavailable after suffering a knock in training. While Smalling has emerged as a defensive wall for Louis van Gaal’s men, Lukaku’s match-winning hat-trick against West Bromwich Albion clearly suggested what the Belgian is capable of.

“I have a philosophy and the main aspect of that philosophy is the total human being principle, so I have to see how they come from that defeat”, said Van Gaal, who left as Netherlands coach to take over at Old Trafford following the 2014 World Cup. Two seasons ago, Van Gaal’s predecessor, David Moyes, was sacked following a 2-0 loss to his former club.

I would expect an improvement from United but I don’t think they will win.

Everton, though, are in impressive form.

The right back had sat out Everton’s last four matches due to a hamstring injury picked up in the 3-1 victory over Chelsea, but made his comeback for the Republic of Ireland in the recent global match against Poland. “You have to improve every time”.

The global break has been good for Everton, too. Yet manager Roberto Martinez will still be without Leighton Baines, Steven Pienaar, Tom Cleverley, Muhamed Besic and Tony Hibbert.

And one player who could benefit from a chance in Rooney’s absence is Ander Herrera.

John Stones: Everton fans must be delighted by the news that their John stones is fit enough to play against Manchester United.

Paddy McNair, however, ruptured his liver playing for Northern Ireland against Finland and will be out for a month, according to the United manager.