‘I fully expect…’: Merson predicts three-goal affair between Everton and Man Utd in Hill Dickinson clash

Paul Merson expects Manchester United to continue their tremendous run of form under Michael Carrick when they take to the Hill Dickinson Stadium for the first-ever time.The United faithful are having to wait 13 days to see the side back in action due to their premature FA Cup exit, though it has allowed the players to rest and recuperate more so than their other top-four rivals, such as Chelsea (fifth) and Liverpool (sixth).DOWNLOAD THE OFFICIAL STRETTY NEWS APP FOR ALL THE LATEST UPDATES & BREAKING – STRAIGHT TO YOUR PHONE! ON APPLE & GOOGLE PLAYUnited will be keeping tabs on the weekend’s affairs amid tense top-four race(Photo by Matt McNulty/Getty Images)This weekend, with United on Monday Night Football for the umpteenth time this season, they will be able to see how the clubs around them fare before their clash with Everton kicks off at 8pm.Chelsea take on Burnley this afternoon while Liverpool are away to Nottingham Forest, so, on paper, you would expect them to claim maximum points from their respective encounters.Meanwhile, Everton have failed to win in three of their last five league outings, and are without talisman Jack Grealish, who’s on loan from Manchester City, for the remainder of the term.United are looking to swiftly bounce back after dropping points to relegation-threatened West Ham; they clinched a point in the final seconds thanks to an emphatic finish from Benjamin Sesko in injury time.The forward has yet to start in Carrick’s tenure thus far, so it’ll be interesting to see if his recent goal returns (four in his last five league appearances) would prompt the interim boss to make his first change in three games.Merson’s prediction: Everton 1-2 United(Photo by Alex Pantling/Getty Images)Merson expects the Red Devils to return to winning ways on Merseyside, but does anticipate that Everton will find a way past Senne Lammens.“The pressure will be on Manchester United because they are playing after Chelsea and Liverpool this weekend. I don’t think Everton are great at home, so at least that’s an advantage for United,” Merson penned in his SportsKeeda column.“I like how Manchester United did not give up against West Ham and got that late draw. Michael Carrick took a chance to try to get back in the game. He gambled like Sir Alex Ferguson would have and they got the draw. I liked that about him.“Manchester United will create chances in this game, and I fully expect them to score enough to get the win over Everton.”