Everton's task on Sunday got a little bit tougher with the news late on Thursday that Wayne Rooney will be fit and available for this weekend's match. There had been concern that Rooney's injured toe would prevent him from playing, but according to Moyes, the United striker is fit. Oh joy.
Moyes confirmed that Rooney's fit for #MUFC trip to #EFC this weekend. Bruising gone down and X-rays of toe shown no damage
— Daniel Taylor (@DTguardian) April 17, 2014
With or without Rooney, Everton were going to face a tough challenge against Manchester United, who despite struggling for much of the season, have had an uptick of form recently.
With the loss to Crystal Palace on Wednesday, Everton have lost what little room for error they had in the chase for fourth place and must now keep winning and hope Arsenal slips up at least once. On the bright side, this Everton team have played markedly better against tough competition this season than against weaker foes, so hopefully the Blues will be fired up, and ready to go regardless of what Rooney's toe is doing.