United's battle with Real to tell tale of two leagues
Everton at Old Trafford first up, but it's the Champions League clash that's the crunch
Statistics say Manchester United are better than ever, and they have the opportunity to prove it on both the domestic and continental fronts this week with matches against Everton and Real Madrid. The Champions League tie against Real, in particular, will be a good guide to United's quality and to the relative strength of the English Premier League and Spain's Primera Liga.
First for United is the home game against Everton - one of only three teams to have defeated them in the Premier League this season. With United holding a nine-point lead, this is hardly a crunch game in the title race and Alex Ferguson may be tempted to rest one or two key players for the Champions League match.
Even if Ferguson puts out a full-strength side, there is an element of doubt about United at the odds. While they have been virtually unstoppable against the bulk of the division this season, United have only a 50 per cent win rate against top-six opposition and two of their three defeats have been against teams in that category (1-0 at Everton in their opening game and 3-2 at home to Tottenham just over a month later).
Everton's record against top-six teams is not much different, except they have lost only one out of five in that category (2-1 at home to Chelsea in December). Everton average 1.6 points per game against top-six teams, only just behind United's 1.67.
David Moyes' side also have a good recent record against United, with four defeats in the last 10 meetings. Everton have won only two out of 10, mainly because they are a low-scoring team and it is difficult to outscore United with that type of profile.
Their last visit to Old Trafford went against the grain, however, as Everton came back from 4-2 down to force a 4-4 result. Moyes has put together a greater attacking threat in the past year and that suggests Everton will not be so reliant on keeping a clean sheet.Even so, under 2.5 goals is the best bet, with United looking poor value as a fair price on them would be 1.8.