In the first Monday night match of the Premier League season, Everton takes on Manchester United at Goodison Park at 3pm ET/8pm BST (live on ESPN2 and ESPN3.com for readers in the United States).

All eyes today will be on the expected debut of Robin van Persie. I wouldn’t be surprised if the Dutch striker comes off the bench instead of starting since he may not be fully match fit. Other than van Persie, Rio Ferdinand looks set to miss the match due to injury. He joins fellow centre backs Phil Jones, Chris Smalling and Jonny Evans on the injury list. Expect Sir Alex Ferguson to shuffle around his team lineup for Manchester United’s first match of the 2012-13 Premier League season.

Everton, on the other hand, have no injury concerns so they’ll be expected to field a team including Nikica Jelavic and Marouane Fellaini — both of whom caused United so much trouble near the end of last season.

Before, during and after today’s Premier League match, post your rants, raves, questions and observations in the comments section below.

Photo credit: Chris Beckenham.