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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Sport
Freddie Keighley

Carlo Ancelotti identifies "advantage" Everton will have for Man Utd tie

Carlo Ancelotti claims Everton will have a "physical advantage" as they face Manchester United in Saturday's lunchtime kick-off.

Both sides are out of form, with the Toffees winless in three Premier League matches and United beaten by Arsenal and Istanbul Basaksehir in their previous two outings.

Everton's previous fixture was the 2-1 defeat to Newcastle on Sunday, meaning Ancelotti's side have almost a whole week to prepare for the visit of the Red Devils.

Meanwhile, United travelled back from their 2-1 defeat in Turkey on Wednesday night and face a quick turnaround to be ready for the trip to Goodison Park.

Ancelotti says Everton can "take advantage" of United's hectic schedule (Getty Images)

Ancelotti, 61, believes Everton's additional time to prepare for the match may prove vital to his side's chances.

"It can be an advantage," said the Toffees boss. "As I said before, the top teams have a really, really big schedule so it is really difficult for them.

"So we can take advantage of this on a physical aspect, above all."

Will Manchester United struggle at Everton after playing in Istanbul just three days earlier? Have your say here.

United were beaten 2-1 by Istanbul Basaksehir on Wednesday night (Getty Images)

However, Ancelotti also admitted Everton's best results came at the start of the season, when they were playing cup games in midweek as well as Premier League matches at the weekend.

The Toffees' impressive start to the campaign saw them win their first seven games in all competitions - which were spread out across just 20 days.

The winning run saw Everton go top of the league and progress to the quarter-finals of the Carabao Cup.

Ancelotti added: "I think we did better when we had games every three days. But from a physical point of view, we have an advantage for sure [for the United game]."

Everton have slipped to fourth in the Premier League, while United are 15th with a game in hand.

The Red Devils have lost three and drawn one of their home games, but have a 100 per cent record on the road thanks to victories at Brighton and Newcastle.

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