Friday briefing: De Gea is ready for Everton away

It’s been just over 36 hours since our defeat to Istanbul Basaksehir in the Champions League, a surprise result which forces us to share the lead of Group H with RB Leipzig, with 50 per cent of the group stage completed.

The opportunity to put things right after Wednesday – and Sunday’s loss to Arsenal, for that matter – arrives early on Saturday though, with United travelling to Goodison Park to take on Everton in the Premier League at 12:30 GMT.

It’s the last time the Reds will be together for two weeks, with the final international break of 2020 taking precedence in the schedule.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is set to appear in front of the media on Friday, to preview the game on Merseyside.

In a slight change to regular proceedings, though, the press conference will be shown live in the Official App and on ManUtd.com from 13:30 GMT, rather than in the usual slot of mid-morning.

While we wait to hear from the manager before taking on the high-flying Toffees, goalkeeper David De Gea has given his thoughts on the fixture, which coincides with a special day for him personally.

“To be honest [a win] would be the best present for me if we beat Everton on my 30th birthday,” De Gea told us. “It will be a tough game for sure. They have a good manager and good players and they are playing very well. We need to be ready for the game.”

The Blues are also looking for a response after a poor run which has seen them lose back-to-back games at Southampton and Newcastle.

Carlo Ancelotti’s side recruited the likes of James Rodriguez, Allan and Abdoulaye Doucoure in the summer and started the campaign with four, wins out of four in the top-flight, placing them well in the picture for the Champions League positions.

“They are playing very well, like l said,” continued David. “They have signed some very good players and they are scoring a lot of goals.

“It’s a very good team and it’s always difficult to play against Everton away to be honest, so we need to be very focused, train well and be 100 per cent ready to play against them.”

WHAT’S HAPPENING TODAY?

As mentioned, Solskjaer’s press conference, conducted via video call from the Aon Training Complex, will be streamed live from 13:30 GMT.

If you can’t make it then, not to worry – we’ll keep you updated with the latest team news and updates from the manager, while you’ll be able to go back and watch the full media briefing at your leisure.

Elsewhere, Neil Ryan’s Under-23s are back in action after a fortnight break.

Our youngsters, among them new Uruguayan signing Facundo Pellistri, take on Brighton & Hove Albion, in a game you can watch live on MUTV when it kicks off at 15:00 GMT.

WHAT HAPPENED YESTERDAY?

We published an Everton preview and an early team news update ahead of that game, and looked back at a classic visit to Goodison Park from April 2007.

Seven Reds were called up for international duty by the home nations for crunch Nations League and Euro 2020 qualifying play-offs – keep your eyes peeled for more call-ups in the coming days.

Last but not least, Bruno Fernandes was crowned the winner of our October Goal of the Month, for his superb strike against Newcastle. 

The Portuguese's counter-attacking effort pipped Marcus Rashford's late goal in Paris in the vote in our Official App.