Tuesday night, Man United defeated Bournemouth 3-0 in the Premier League to extend their winning streak to six games in a row across all competitions. Casemiro, Luke Shaw, and Marcus Rashford scored the goals for the Red Devils, who tightened their hold on a top-four position. Erik ten Hag's side are currently fourth in the table, five points ahead of fifth-placed Tottenham Hotspur and level on 35 points with third-placed Newcastle United, who have played a game more; Man United are also now just one point shy of second-placed Manchester City in England's top flight. Since the beginning of October, the Red Devils have only lost once in all competitions, and they have won all four of their games since making their post-World Cup comeback, scoring nine goals and recording four clean sheets in the process. 

The month of January will be crucial for Manchester United in terms of their season-long goals, as they will host Charlton Athletic in the EFL Cup quarterfinals on Tuesday night at Old Trafford before facing Man City in the league on January 14. They are also set to face their long-time rivals Arsenal within the month. Middlesbrough eliminated Man United from the FA Cup in the fourth round of the previous season, although the Red Devils are the second-most successful team in the competition's history, having won the cup 12 times.  However, they last won the cup in 2016 but it does appear that head coach Erik Ten Hag will take every competition seriously this season, as the Dutchman bids to secure silverware in his first season at the helm.

Everton, on the other hand, has won the FA Cup five times. Their most recent success came in 1995 when they defeated Man United 1-0. Paul Rideout scored the game's lone goal. Although the Toffees have drawn their last three fixtures at Old Trafford, they have already lost to the Red Devils this season. Everton will enter this game coming off a 4-1 home loss to Brighton on Tuesday night. As a result, they now have 15 points and are in 16th place in the Premier League standings.

Although there are still questions about Frank Lampard's viability as head coach of Everton, the 44-year-old is the man in charge for now, and he will be expecting a great victory at Old Trafford. Everton did enjoy their trip to Manchester on December 31, holding Man City to a 1-1 draw in their Premier League fixture. Lampard would have had some breathing room after that result. Before beginning February at home against Arsenal, Everton will play their next two Premier League games against Southampton and West Ham United, both of which are significant matches given the positions of both clubs.