Manchester United take on Everton in the Premier League on Monday November 24.
The international break is over, but Manchester United must wait to return to action after the weekend. And that may be helpful, giving Ruben Amorim and his players extra time to prepare.
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With striker Benjamin Sesko out injured, Amorim has to decide how he will replace him.
One of the options, and a compelling one, is to recall Joshua Zirkzee to the starting XI.
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Joshua Zirkzee dribbling the ball for Man Utd vs Brighton
Photo by Shaun Brooks – CameraSport via Getty Images
The argument for Joshua Zirkzee
Joshua Zirkzee was not called up for the Netherlands due to his lack of regular playing time for Manchester United.
This has meant he has had extra time to prepare at Carrington, and is fresher than Matheus Cunha, who could be shifted forward. The Brazilian played twice for Brazil during the break.
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But the really compelling reason to recall Zirkzee is that he performed so well against Everton at Old Trafford last season.
Zirkzee scored two goals in a 4-0 win under Ruben Amorim, a match that was his best ever game for the club.
Amorim raved about Zirkzee after the game, discussing how well he pulled the Everton defence out of position and created space for others.
He explained: “I think, today, it would be really hard, even for Rasmus [Hojlund], to fight with the two centre-backs of Everton. So we tried to push them to a position that they are not so comfortable. Josh did a great job.”
Amorim will be tempted to try and repeat his success, and give Zirkzee an opportunity to replicate his performance.
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The argument against Joshua Zirkzee
There are two problems with recalling Joshua Zirkzee, and one is the double-edged sword of him missing the international break.
Zirkzee’s lack of action and freshness means he may lack match sharpness, at a critical stage of the season against a physically demanding team.
🔴 Manchester United vs. Everton: Premier League Record
Statistic Value
Total Premier League Matches 60
Manchester United Wins 37
Everton Wins 10
Draws 13
Another element in play is that Everton have changed their managers since Zirkzee’s success against the Toffees last time around, sacking Sean Dyche and replacing him with David Moyes.
Moyes still likes his teams to play with the same physical intensity as Dyche, but has a little more savviness to his set up, that Ruben Amorim may not be able to so easily exploit this time around.
The two teams contested a 2-2 draw at Goodison Park when the two managers faced off later last season.