Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho has backed his side to climb up the Premier League table over the next two months following a testing start to the season.

The Red Devils have won just four of their opening nine top-flight games and find themselves 12 points adrift of leaders Liverpool.

Tenth-placed United play their game in hand on the Reds against Everton on Sunday afternoon, and Mourinho is hoping for a positive result at Old Trafford to begin a swift ascent up the division.

"Today, as we welcome Marco Silva, the Everton players and supporters to Old Trafford, we want to get back to winning matches and we want to start picking up points as we look to move up the Premier League table," he is quoted as saying by United's official matchday programme.

"I believe at the end of December we will be in a completely different position in the table. Our squad is quite young in places and these players are learning all the time. I have absolutely no criticism of how my boys have played in the last two games."

United have also won just one of their three Champions League group games and they were dumped out of the EFL Cup by Derby County last month.