Phil Neville: Fellaini Must Relish Everton Return

Manchester United legend Phil Neville believes Marouane Fellaini will enjoy his return to former club Everton when the Reds visit Goodison Park on Sunday.

The Belgium international was an unused substitute in the fixture last year - a 2-0 defeat which turned out to be David Moyes' final game in charge of the Reds - but can expect to be a key figure this time around after earning the faith of manager Louis van Gaal.

Speaking at a Manchester United Foundation event in Wythenshawe to promote the Red Heart United Legends game on 14 June, Neville explained why it will be a "shoot-out" between the two clubs he represented with distinction during his playing days.

"I think it’ll be good for Fellaini to go back to Goodison now because he’s going back in a better of state of mind," the ex-England international told ManUtd.com. "He's in better form and I think he’s going there full of confidence.

"What happened in terms of his departure from Everton has been forgotten about now so Everton fans can probably look at it and say Marouane did a great job for us, he’s coming back and United fans are seeing the best of him. So he’s got to go there enjoy the fact he’s playing really well for the club now and he had five great years at Everton too."

United are aiming to bounce back from the defeat at Chelsea by completing a double over the Merseysiders and maintaining the push for a top-four spot.

"I’m really looking forward to the game," Neville added. "I’m actually going to go to it because it’s two of my former clubs. Everton have come back into a little bit of form while United are probably the form team in the Premier League at the moment so it should be a really open game as it's two coaches with a real focus on a tactical battle.

"I can see it being an entertaining game. Everton play expansive football and United will obviously go for goals like United always do. It’ll be a real shoot-out. Everton have got players coming back from injury – Romelu Lukaku was on the bench the other day so he’ll be back.

"Ross Barkley, Steven Naismith and Kevin Mirallas are players that can hurt Manchester United but what United have to do is focus on the way they’ve been playing. The performances against Chelsea, Villa, Spurs and at Anfield were fantastic. If they can reach that level of performance again, it’ll be very difficult for Everton to get a result."