Manchester United forward Antony has revealed he has been warned by teammates about what to expect from the Red Devils' trip to Everton.
United were beaten at Goodison Park last season, with England under-21 star Anthony Gordon scoring the only goal of the game. A repeat this time around would see Frank Lampard's team leapfrog their opponents on Sunday night, though they have played a game more.
Erik ten Hag's visitors are coming off a 6-3 defeat in the Manchester derby, and will want a response to avoid losing more ground on the top four. One of the bright moments in that game was a long-range goal from summer signing Antony, the second goal the former Ajax man has scored in as many league games, and the Brazil star will be looking to make it three in a row.
"We know it’s going to be a difficult, tough game,’ Antony said ahead of the weekend clash. "My team-mates have already spoken to me about this fixture.
"They said it will be difficult. We have to impose our game, show our strength.
"We shouldn’t get worked up and let our heads go down because of one game, one result," he added. The defeat at the Etihad Stadium was United's third in the league this season, but they responded with a comeback victory against Omonia in the Europa League.
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Manchester United have played one game fewer than a number of teams, after the postponement of their game against Leeds United in September. However, victory on Sunday would allow them to gain ground ahead of home league outings against Newcastle and Tottenham.
"Sadly, we lost the last (league) game but, when you think about it, we’ve beaten Liverpool and the league leaders Arsenal," continued Antony. The £84m man netted just 35 minutes into his debut against Arsenal, having arrived shortly after the 2-1 victory over Liverpool.
"Our season can’t be summarised by just one game. We’re now focused on the match against Everton and, God willing, we will get the three points."
United's squad extended their stay in Cyprus after beating Omonia to make it six points from a possible nine in Europe. Manager Ten Hag opted to keep his team in Nicosia for warm-weather training after the victory, which came courtesy of two second-half goals from substitute Marcus Rashford.
"We don’t have so many moments in training [before facing Omonia] but it was the warm-up, Sunday we have to be ready for a fight, for a battle there," Ten Hag said. "It’s about intensity, that has to be much more and really improved.
""When you compare that last Sunday with [Manchester] City, that was the main lesson for us. We have to bring much more intensity in games, like against City and Everton is the same. That’s going to be a hard battle and we have to be ready for that."
