On Saturday afternoon, Manchester United hosts Everton in the Premier League at the Theatre of Dreams. Erik ten Hag will need to turn around the club’s league fortunes, as they have lost their previous two league games against Fulham and Manchester City.

United will be expected to finish in the top four this season in order to compete in the UEFA Champions League the following season, which came easily to the club under Sir Alex Ferguson’s leadership. However, they are 11 points behind fourth place!

United appear unlikely to achieve anything this season, since injuries have taken their toll once more, not to mention the club’s lack of ambition and desire. United appeared to give up in the second half against City, which is unacceptable given this squad’s underperformance.

Predicted Manchester United Starting XI: 4-2-3-1

Onana;

Dalot, Varane, Kambwala, and Amrabat.

Casemiro and Mainoo.

Antony, Fernandes, and Garnacho

McTominay

Goalkeeper: Onana.

Andre Onana has conceded 57 goals across all competitions this season, which is bad by any goalkeeper’s standards. United should be doing considerably better defensively and preserving more clean sheets than they have in recent seasons.

Defenders: Dalot, Varane, Kambwala, and Amrabat.

Diogo Dalot and Sofyan Amrabat should start at fullback against Everton, as both Luka Shaw and Tyrell Malacia are expected to miss the rest of the season. Aaron Wan-Bissaka is out, so Dalot is the only fit fullback at this point in the season.

Midfielders: Casemiro, Mainoo

United’s midfield has performed admirably this season, despite the fact that Casemiro and Christian Eriksen were both injured, while Mason Mount, who also played in the midfield, is currently out of action and has been for some time.

Kobbie Mainoo has grown in stature for the club this season, which has to be one of the positives thus far, as well as a wise managerial decision. United are still a work in progress, but it is possible that the necessary work will be done to return the club to winning ways.

Antony, Fernandes, and Garnacho are attacking midfielders.

To win matches, the offensive players behind the striker must step up their game. At this point in the season, United are falling too far behind in their quest to finish in the Premier League’s top four, which means they may miss out on Europe entirely.

Bruno Fernandes will need to pull something out of his team by leading from the front and pushing them to succeed. Long gone are the days when United had a club captain who would drag his team through matches in order to win them and keep winning – playing for the badge rather than the money.

Forward: McTominay

Scott McTominay is one of United’s leading scorers this season, and he appears to be one of the players who will break through the lines and strive for goals for his team. Many of the club’s followers don’t appear to rate the player, which is surprising given his recent success.

He may not be a striker, but with so few choices in the roster – both Anthony Martial and Rasmus Hojlund are sidelined, leaving only untested junior players as main options going forward, this may be too risky at this point in the season. Ten Hag is caught in a difficult situation.