Carlo Ancelotti has confirmed James Rodriguez will return against Man Utd on Saturday despite admitting doubts whether the Colombian is fully fit.
Rodriguez missed Everton's last match against Newcastle after suffering an unfortunate injury to his testicle.
The forward wore special protective trousers in a bid to recover and is now set to feature at Goodison Park in a clash of huge importance to United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
Asked whether his talisman would be involved, Ancelotti replied: "He said that he's 100 per cent. I have some doubt that he's 100 per cent but it doesn't matter for me."
Everton enjoyed a storming start to the season - at one stage topping the table - but have since been brought back down to earth with back-to-back defeats.
Ancelotti's men were humbled at Southampton a fortnight ago before losing again at St. James' Park last week.
They welcome a United side in similar form, having also lost their previous two fixtures - the latest of which a shock upset at the hands of Champions League rookies Istanbul Basaksehir.
But Ancelotti has not been taking anything for granted in his preparations.
"It's never a good moment to play United because they are a strong team with experience and quality," he said.
"It is true they have been up and down but some games they played really well. We have to expect a team with a strong motivation.
"We prepared for the game as usual, trying to find some weaknesses that they have, that every team in the world has.
"We are sure that tomorrow will be a difficult game because they have all the qualities a team needs - creativity, power, organisation."
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United are arguably more desperate for a result than Everton as pressure mounts on Solskjaer who is now fighting for his job.
Discussing his opposite number's predicament, Ancelotti added: "In general I have sympathy for all managers.
"I can say that when things are not good, there is only one responsible. Every manager is under pressure, I can say the pressure that we have is a privilege.
"We have to analyse ourselves with a cold mind."
