Despite a defeat at the hands of Chelsea last time out, the mood in the Man United camp is very positive and the Red Devils will continue to fight for the second spot in the Barclays Premier League which is currently occupied by Arsenal. The Gunners play Chelsea over the weekend and a loss for them accompanied with a win for United will allow the Red Devils to finish this game week in second place.
However according to Man United boss Van Gaal, the Red Devils could have done better than second place had it not been for their blip earlier in the season.
"Yes, we had a very bad start," the United manager said.
"I have already explained that after several matches why so I don't have to repeat myself but if we had started well, we could have been the champions."
The Dutchman also claimed that he misses being part of the Champions League but is confident his side can return to Europe's elite competition next season.
"Of course I miss it," he said.
"When I look to the matches this week also, great matches and also sometimes disappointing because the level was not always high and the difference between the teams was very high, I believe, so I miss it very much."
"I hope we shall achieve our goal for the season and play next season in the Champions League but we still have 15 points to fight for. It is not done yet."
The Red Devils have been in supreme form as of late, with the defeat against Chelsea their only loss in the last five games. They will be against an Everton side which has not met expectations this season but have found consistency in their recent matches. They were against Burnley last time out a match which was settled by a solitary goal from Kevin Mirallas and Roberto Martinez will be hoping his side can continue the run against a very good Man United side.
Northern Ireland international Jonny Evans will be available for selection having served his six match suspension after he was found guilty of spitting at Papiss Cisse during Man United's 1-0 victory over Newcastle back in March.
However the Red Devils have suffered another defensive injury with full-back Rafael da Silva ruled out of the tie. The Brazilian joins Marcos Rojo, Phil Jones and Michael Carrick on the injury list. Everton on the other hand will be without Steven Pienaar whereas James McCarthy and Leon Osman are doubtful for the match.
Everton vs Manchester United team sheets
Everton's First XI: Howard, Baines, Stones, Jagielka (c), Coleman, Barry, McCarthy, Osman, Barkley, Lennon, Lukaku
Everton's bench: Joel, Kone, Mirallas, Naismith, Besic, Garbutt, Alcaraz
Man United's First XI: De Gea, Valencia, Smalling, McNair, Shaw, Blind, Herrera, Mata, Fellaini, Young, Rooney
Man United's bench: Valdes, Blackett, Januzaj, Pereira, Di Maria, van Persie, Falcao
Match details, result and original broadcast info
This match has ended. Below are the original Live broadcast details for this match.
Live TV coverage and streaming in United States
Live TV coverage and streaming in United States
Follow the game on-the-go
Download our iOS and Android apps to follow soccer on-the-go. It comes packed with features - live scores, fixtures, results, tables, line-ups, stats, TV schedule and much more! Sorry, no live streaming within the app.
