Roberto Martinez has said that he expects James McCarthy to be ready for Everton's match against Manchester United this weekend.

The midfielder dropped to the substitutes' bench for the team's 3-2 defeat to Crystal Palace earlier this week with a muscular problem.

The manager told the club's website: "He is massively important to us and he should be fine. I was very pleased because we took a bit of a risk with him on Wednesday.

"But he's fully fit, he came through okay and he's preparing well for Sunday. I don't expect that to be a problem."

However, club captain Phil Jagielka and Steven Pienaar are both expected to sit out Sunday's clash.

Everton head into the weekend one point behind fourth-placed Arsenal in the Premier League table.