Ahead of Everton's Premier League game against Manchester United, our Blues jury have returned to have their say on the game at Old Trafford
David Moyes speaks with Thierno Barry during the match between Everton and Fulham at Hill Dickinson Stadium on November 8, 2025
David Moyes speaks with Thierno Barry during the match between Everton and Fulham at Hill Dickinson Stadium on November 8, 2025
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Everton have to wait until Monday night to return to Premier League action. The Blues make the trip along the East Lancashire Road to take on Manchester United at Old Trafford.
David Moyes’ side head into the game on the back of a morale-boosting 2-0 victory over Fulham before the international break. United, on the other hand, are currently five games unbeaten in the Premier League.
And ahead of Monday’s game, our Everton jury have returned to have their say.
Mark McParlan - That dreadful kick-off time again
By mid-November we have already had our third international break. Three breaks, only 11 matches into the Premier League season, is ridiculous.
Really, UEFA should be looking to combine the Nations League and qualification stages, streamlining that whole process.
Certainly, England gained nothing from this – a group with Andorra, Latvia, Albania, and Serbia, providing eight wins from eight, is laughable and unhelpful.
Our only source of joy where England are concerned is Jordan Pickford, who has now kept ten international clean sheets in a row, a stupendous achievement.
Elsewhere, both Seamus Coleman (an icon for club and country without doubt) and Jake O’Brien started twice for Ireland, as they saw off Roberto Martinez’s Portugal and then defeated at the death a Hungary side including Liverpool pair Dominik Szoboszlai and Milos Kerkez, which was delightful to see.
Seamus Coleman celebrates following Ireland's win over Hungary
Seamus Coleman celebrates following Ireland's win over Hungary
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Meanwhile, news that five games would be hosted at ‘Everton Stadium’ in EURO 2028 was most welcome, though it’s a shame it will host only one knockout fixture.
There are other escapes, though. I’d point to Liverpool’s Non-League scene: I watched my team Marine emerge 2-0 victors at home in the FA Trophy versus lower-division outfit Stocksbridge Park Steels, from South Yorkshire.
Everton loanee Odin Samuels-Smith has made that left-back spot in the Marine side his own. Likewise, Frazer Barnsley, another loanee from the Blues, is first-choice goalkeeper, though presently away on Northern Ireland under-21 duty.
Playing National League North football aged 19 and 21, respectively, these aren’t future Everton first-teamers, but experience of senior football should help them establish professional careers.
But thank goodness, the international break is finally over, and the Blues are returning. I just hope this hasn’t stalled our winning feeling, gained against Fulham, as we head into this weekend.
Oh – no! We are once again the Monday night game. This will be only our 12th Premier League fixture of the season, yet we will have already played four times on a Monday night.
One-third of our Premier League fixtures at that dreadful kick-off is an atrocious proportion.
We face a Manchester United side sitting in 7th, so certainly not the total joke they have often been recently.
In any case, we contrived to lose 4-0 to this Ruben Amorim side last year, which, combined with the traditional David Moyes record away at the ‘Sky 6’, doesn’t fill me with enormous hope.
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Daniel Smith - Time to shows things have changed
It feels like a lifetime ago since Bryan Oviedo scored at Old Trafford to secure us a 1-0 victory. To say Everton’s record against Manchester United at the Theatre of Dreams is poor would be an understatement.
It is quite frankly embarrassing that we haven't beaten them away since December 2013, especially when you consider how bad they have been in recent years.
But now is the time for that change. No longer should the Blues be rocking up at venues like Old Trafford and be brushed aside with ease like they have been in recent years.
Sunderland have already shown against Chelsea this season that there is no reason why sides should fear playing the Big Six away.
But Everton have to believe they can get all three points on Monday. There has been plenty of talk about a mentality shift; now is the time to show it.
My big hope, though, on Monday is that David Moyes sticks with Thierno Barry up top. Yes, the forward is still without a goal, but against Fulham last time out he was absolutely superb and produced his best performance for the club.
Now is the time for Moyes to put some belief in the 23-year-old and give him an opportunity to gain experience and develop.
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