Manchester United will be looking to make it three straight Premier League wins for the first time since January when they welcome Everton to Old Trafford on Sunday afternoon.

The Red Devils have risen into fifth position in the table courtesy of back-to-back victories, while Everton moved into 14th spot last weekend with a 3-1 win over Chelsea at Goodison Park.

Match preview

It would be fair to say that there was pressure on United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer following the 2-2 draw at home to Aston Villa at the start of the month. At the time, a number of supporters were calling for their club to relieve the Norwegian of his duties following a poor start to the campaign.

It has been a huge last week or so for the Red Devils, though, as they beat Tottenham Hotspur 2-1 on December 4 before winning by the same score away to Manchester City last weekend. The two results were excellent, but it was the two performances that perhaps made the biggest impression.

The 20-time English champions now sit fifth in the Premier League table, just five points behind fourth-placed Chelsea, who are currently having a wobble. United are still just two points ahead of 11th position, but they will believe that a Champions League finish is not beyond them this term.

Solskjaer's team were also in Europa League action on Thursday night, and a 4-0 win over AZ at Old Trafford ensured that they would finish top of the section. Mason Greenwood scored twice for a much-changed side, and the supporters will be full of confidence heading into Sunday's contest.

Everton, though, will be feeling much better about themselves following last weekend's 3-1 win over Chelsea. The Toffees entered the clash with the Blues off the back of three straight losses to Norwich City, Leicester City and Liverpool in the league, which saw Marco Silva lose his job as head coach.

Duncan Ferguson was immediately placed in temporary charge of the Merseyside giants, and the Scot's passion was mirrored by the players on the field against the Blues last weekend.

Carlo Ancelotti is allegedly heading for London to hold face-to-face talks with Everton owner Farhad Moshiri and chairman Bill Kenwright to discuss the possibility of becoming the club's new manager after leaving Napoli.

Ferguson will be in charge of first-team affairs at Old Trafford, though, and he faces the difficult task of improving a record which has seen Everton win just one of their last 26 Premier League away matches against United, which was a 1-0 success in December 2013.

United have actually won 36 of their 54 Premier League games against Everton, suffering just nine defeats in the process. That said, the Toffees ran out 4-0 winners when the two teams last locked horns in April, which was certainly one of the low points of Solskjaer's time in charge.

A record of 24 points from 16 matches is United's joint-lowest total at this stage of a Premier League season, but they are unbeaten in their last 10 matches at Old Trafford in all competitions.

Everton might feel that they will be the fresher of the two teams heading into the match having not played since last weekend, although Solskjaer made a number of changes for the Europa League tie with AZ.

Only Harry Maguire and Anthony Martial are certain of a spot in the first XI on Sunday from the side that started against the Dutch outfit, with Greenwood expected to return to the bench despite enhancing his growing reputation with a brilliant double in Thursday's contest.

In Marcus Rashford, meanwhile, United have a player who has scored 10 times in 16 Premier League appearances this season, including three goals in the two games against Spurs and Man City.

Everton will head into this weekend's clash looking for back-to-back league wins for the first time since April. The Toffees have lost six of their last seven in the Premier League, though, and have managed just one victory away from home in the top flight this term, which is an indication of their struggles.

Five wins and two draws have brought them 17 points, leaving them in 14th spot in the table, just two points clear of the relegation zone ahead of the next set of fixtures in England's top flight.

Only Norwich City (11) have lost more Premier League games than Everton (9) this season, meanwhile, which shows that Silva's departure earlier this month was not a surprise.

The Toffees will face United, Leicester and Arsenal in their next three league matches, and there is still a chance that they could be in the relegation zone at Christmas despite the positivity since Ferguson arrived.

Manchester United Premier League competition form: LWDDWW
Manchester United form (all competitions): DLDWWW

Everton Premier League competition form: DWLLLW

Team News

Jesse Lingard has emerged as a huge doubt for United after picking up a knock in the win over City last weekend. The Red Devils are expected to make a late call on the Englishman, although Andreas Pereira is being tipped to start having impressed in the 4-0 success over AZ.

Elsewhere, Paul Pogba, Eric Bailly and Timothy Fosu-Mensah remain on the sidelines despite stepping up their recoveries from their injury problems.

There are not expected to be many changes from the side that started at City last weekend, with Luke Shaw being tipped to get the nod over Ashley Young and Brandon Williams at left-back.

Fred and Scott McTominay will continue in the middle of the park having impressed against Spurs and City, while Daniel James, Rashford and Martial have become Solskjaer's first-choice front three and that will remain the case this weekend.

As for Everton, Ferguson revealed at Friday's press conference that Theo Walcott and Morgan Schneiderlin would both be unavailable for selection due to calf problems.

Seamus Coleman, Yerry Mina and Fabian Delph have resumed light training, though, and Lucas Digne is also being tipped to feature after taking part in Friday's training session.

Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Richarlison are expected to start as the front two having both scored against Chelsea last weekend, while Gylfi Sigurdsson should keep his spot in midfield.

Jean-Philippe Gbamin and Andre Gomes, though, remain long-term absentees for the Toffees.

Manchester United possible starting lineup:
De Gea; Wan-Bissaka, Lindelof, Maguire, Shaw; Fred, McTominay; James, Andreas, Rashford; Martial

Everton possible starting lineup:
Pickford; Sidibe, Keane, Holgate, Digne; Iwobi, Sigurdsson, Delph, Bernard; Richarlison, Calvert-Lewin

Head To Head

As mentioned, United have won 36 of their previous 54 Premier League games against Everton, suffering just nine defeats in the process. The Toffees have won just one of their last 26 Premier League away matches with the Red Devils, meanwhile, losing 20 times.

The 20-time English champions have also won three of their last four league meetings, although they suffered a 4-0 defeat when they travelled to Goodison Park back in April.

United recorded a 2-1 win in the corresponding clash last season, with Pogba and Martial scoring the goals for the hosts while Sigurdsson registered for the Toffees.

We say: Manchester United 3-1 Everton

Both teams will enter the match in confident form following impressive results last weekend, but it is difficult to back Everton to pick up all three points when taking everything into consideration. It would not be a surprise to see a draw, although we expect Solskjaer's team to put another win on the board.