David Moyes takes on the club he once managed with Everton sitting above Manchester United in the table, which is not a sentence anyone expected to be writing three weeks into the season. United are 11/10 to put that right at the Hill Dickinson Stadium on Sunday afternoon.

The Toffees have made their best start in years, beating Crystal Palace 2-0 in the opener and then pinching a point at Bournemouth through a late James Tarkowski goal. United began by losing 2-0 at Hull before responding with a 5-2 win over Ipswich that told you a great deal about both ends of their team.

Everton v Manchester United odds

Selection	Odds
Manchester United to win	11/10
Matheus Cunha anytime goalscorer	10/3
Bet Builder: over 2 goals, Bruno Fernandes to score or assist, James Garner 2+ fouls	6/1

Odds correct at the time of writing and subject to change.

Why United are favourites despite the start

The Ipswich game was the clearest look we have had at Michael Carrick’s side. They went behind to a Leif Davis goal, then took the match apart in a twelve minute spell, with Bruno Fernandes scoring three and setting up Bryan Mbeumo for a fifth.

United finished with 61 per cent of the ball and controlled almost every underlying number, which is the sort of performance that makes a 2-0 defeat at Hull look more like a bad afternoon than a pattern.

The caveat is at the other end. United have shipped four goals in two games against newly promoted sides, and Ipswich’s second came from the same sort of lapse that Hull punished. Gary Neville was not alone in suggesting the squad still needs defensive work.

Everton, for their part, are dealing with a problem of their own making. The failure to land Folarin Balogun on deadline day leaves them leaning heavily on Thierno Barry, and a forward line that thin is a difficult thing to carry into a game you need to win.

Everton v Manchester United prediction

The head to head record is the thing that gives you pause. Both league meetings last season finished 1-0 to the away side, and both teams have scored in only one of the last seven meetings between them, which sits awkwardly against a bet builder asking for three goals.

Those were different Everton and United teams though, and this United attack looks nothing like the one that ground out 1-0 results last winter. Fernandes is in the form of his life and Matheus Cunha, at 10/3 to score anytime, finished last season with three goals in his final four league games before adding three more at the World Cup.

United at 11/10 is a fair reflection of where these sides actually are rather than where the table says they are. The bet builder at 6/1 is the more interesting play if you think the defensive frailty at both ends produces a more open game than the recent history suggests.

Kick-off is 2pm on Sunday 6 September at the Hill Dickinson Stadium, the first Premier League match of the day. Our football section has the odds and previews for the rest of the round, and the next manager odds page is worth watching given the pressure that builds quickly at both of these clubs.