PREM: Man Utd v Everton preview

Man Utd vs Everton preview

Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho says he retains faith in striker Romelu Lukaku as the Belgian striker prepares to face his former club Everton.

United are hoping to get back to winning ways at Old Trafford after drawing at Chelsea last Saturday and being beaten by Juventus in the Champions League on Tuesday.

Lukaku has failed to score in eight games in all competitions - his longest run without a goal since joining from Everton in a £75m deal in 2017, but Mourinho is not concerned about his dip in form.

"I always feel this game is the game (he ends his goal drought). I feel that every game. One day, it will be, and one day he will score and, I'm sorry, and one day his confidence level will be back to normal which clearly they are not there."

Everton manager Marco Silva and his squad head for Manchester this Sunday off the back of three straight Premier League wins.

Silva is starting to get all his players available to him after a spate of injuries and suspensions offered early challenges to his time on Merseyside.

The Portuguese is good friends with Mourinho, and he has warned his players to prepare for a backlash following United's Champions League defeat by Juventus in midweek.

"Manchester United are always dangerous. They're always a strong side," he said. "When you are talking about Lukaku, it's normal when a striker doesn't score and he is criticised.

"It's happened with some of our strikers before. I think Lukaku has the quality to do good things. We will work and try everything we can to ensure it's not in the next match.

"They are below us in the table, but it's up to us to go there and enjoy the game and achieve a good result for us, which would be winning."

Mourinho has confirmed that Jesse Lingard (groin) and Scott McTominay (knee) could feature but Diogo Dalot, Marouane Fellaini and Alexis Sanchez remain absent.

Everton have no fresh injury concerns and Silva may opt to field an unchanged starting XI following three straight Premier League wins.

Yerry Mina will again be available but may have to settle for a place on the substitutes' bench, while James McCarthy is pushing to be involved for the first time since his double leg break in January.