Howard Kendall: Everton FC must tighten up defence

No doubt the team will have taken confidence from picking up a first Premier League win since beating Portsmouth at the end of September. However, the performance has to be better against United. They are a better side than West Ham and are more likely to capitalise on any defensive mistakes.

Old Trafford is never an easy place to play at. I was in charge of the last Everton team to win there some 17 years ago - a 3-0 victory with Peter Beardsley, Robert Warzycha and Maurice Johnston getting the goals.

That tells you the size of the task this weekend.

It won't be easy but there is no reason why Everton can't go there and cause an upset and will take a lot of confidence from last season's FA Cup semi-final win over United.

Their 1-0 defeat at Stamford Bridge prior to the international break showed us just how important set-pieces are in today's game. United failed to deal with John Terry for the goal and that is an area where Everton can prosper.

With Tim Cahill in the side, the Blues always pose a threat at set-pieces. No doubt Sir Alex Ferguson will be looking at how to cope with Cahill at set-pieces, but that could pave the way for someone else to cause United problems.

For me, Wayne Rooney is United's main danger man. Since Cristiano Ronaldo's departure to Real Madrid, the former Everton striker has stepped up to the plate and has been in a rich vein of form in front of goal this season.

Ryan Giggs could be dangerous too. In recent years he's disappointed me at times, giving the ball away too freely, but he seems to have had a new lease of life and is another reason why Everton's defence will need to tighten up.