Everton vs. Manchester United: Who makes it to the combined XI?
Maguire or Keane, who makes it to the combined eleven?
Right-Back: Seamus Coleman vs Aaron Wan-Bissaka
The Red Devils make it two for two as Aaron Wan-Bissaka slots in at right-back, even though Seamus Coleman is a great player and has proven his quality and desire to play for Everton, it’s clear right now who is the better player.
Wan-Bissaka’s tackling and defensive presence is fantastic for somebody who’s only 22 years old, you could easily argue he’s got the skill set of a centre back with the speed of a full-back and that makes him a problem for wide players.
His slide tackling may be his greatest asset, he seems to constantly find a way to get the ball even if he mistimes his tackle. The only problem with him is that he doesn’t have that ability going forward and that’s where Coleman probably has him beat and is also why he hasn’t been able to get into Gareth Southgate’s England squad over players like Trent Alexander-Arnold and Kieran Trippier.
I do think this is something that will come with time though, and his attacking game will improve the more he challenges himself to get forward and make those crosses and darting runs.
Coleman is clearly fighting against father time and even though he still has the ability to put in fantastic performances and lead the backline, he doesn’t have that consistency anymore that made him arguably one of the best right-backs in the Premier League before his horrific injury.
Right-back: Aaron Wan-Bissaka
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Centre-Back: Michael Keane vs Harry Maguire
In the battle of the big, English centre-backs, I think the Evertonian takes the cake here.
Yes, Harry Maguire cost £80million, but he’s also very error-prone and tends to make irrational and downright confusing decisions, an example being his no-look defending against Sevilla. Michael Keane had his doubters, me being one of them, he’s really turned it around this season, offering defensive solidarity in a similar fashion he did at Burnley. He’s also been quite the goalscoring threat grabbing 2 in the Premier League and 2 in the Carabao Cup.
Maguire, on the other hand, hasn’t been great for United and has been pointed out as one of the red’s key problems. Michael Keane is also the clear choice statistically, even though he’s only averaging 1 tackle per game, which doubles Maguire’s 0.5 which is abysmal for an £80milllion player, Maguire edges him on interceptions, but then Keane has him beat when it comes to clearances.
Maguire also has 1 error leading to goal to Keane’s 0, even though I do think on his day Maguire is a very-talented centre-back who probably gets a little too much abuse because of his price tag. If I had to build a combined eleven right now I’d take Michael Keane every time.