What Makes Rooney and Ronaldo Special

OWENHARGREAVES WRITES EXCLUSIVELY FOR RED VIEW

"Everton away is a tough game, especially with the way they play. Until they signed Yakubu they played mainly with just Andy Johnson up front, but with this being a home game they’ll probably play two up. Yakubu has a great physical presence and he’s been a good goalscorer in the past, and Everton are just generally a good, hard-working team.

"They play together, don’t make a lot of mistakes and defend very well. They’re probably a typical English team – they're very hard-working and keep it simple. It’ll be very tough, but whenever Manchester United show up you’re expected to win games, and we’ll expect to win at Everton.

"Very soon we'll have both Wayne Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo back. Wazza and Ronny scored 23 goals each last season, which is a lot for any team. Then there’s the athletic ability they bring, which is also a huge boost.

"The thing with Wazza is that no matter what kind of game he’s having, whenever he gets the ball he’s going to try something unique. When most players make a few mistakes, they tend to try the easier options, but Wazza and Ronny take chances at all times.

"It just takes one moment of magic to make the difference, and they both have the ability to do that. It’s something that will definitely help us, having them back. They’ll score a lot of goals and, as they’re so unselfish, they’ll set up a lot of goals for others as well."