Premier League preview: Everton v Liverpool

An Everton and a Liverpool fan at the derby

The scripts have been written for Merseyside derbies 218 times before, but recently Everton haven’t been following them.

The most recent meeting at Wembley in April’s FA Cup semi-final was supposed to be the moment that the Blues landed a huge blow on Liverpool and gave David Moyes the chance to earn a first trophy in his 10 years at Goodison Park. But despite going 1-0 up through Nikica Jelavić they froze in the second half and were punished by goals from Luis Suárez and Andy Carroll as the Reds won 2-1.

It was the third of three victories for Liverpool over Everton during a 2011/12 campaign which ended with the Blues four points above their near neighbours in the Premier League table, but without the tangible feeling of success over their Red rivals then any Blue proclamations of being ‘the best team on Merseyside’ sound a little hollow. Everton’s last win over Liverpool came during Roy Hodgson’s disastrous and brief Reds reign, but that was only their second in the last 14 meetings, plenty of which they entered as the team heavily backed to win.

Sunday sees Everton enter the derby as favourites again following an impressive start to the season which has included just one league defeat.

That places them six points above a Liverpool side who only earned their first home league win of the campaign against Reading last weekend, and as Brendan Rodgers continues to piece together his new, largely young squad then Everton suddenly look stronger and stronger favourites for this, the 147th league meeting between the pair. The trouble is that that is the trouble.

Everton don’t want to be favourites for the derby in much the same way that Liverpool will be quite happy that they are.

The pressure has got to Moyes’s men before, but they’ll be hoping that the probable return of Marouane Fellaini from injury will offset the loss of the suspended Steven Pienaar at Goodison Park, whilst also hopeful that Liverpool’s midweek Europa League clash with Anzhi Makhachkala has taken something out of Rodgers’ men.

The Reds boss named a strong side for the 1-0 win over the Russians at Anfield – a victory achieved courtesy of a fine Stewart Downing winner – and with only Joe Allen and the teenagers Raheem Sterling and Suso expected to return to the side at Goodison then Rodgers will be hoping that the momentum picked up from back-to-back victories far outweighs any tired legs.

It is of course a first taste of these occasions for Liverpool’s Northern Irish manager, and with only one of the Reds’ previous 18 bosses experiencing victory in their first ever away derby perhaps expecting a third win in just over a week will be just a little too far-fetched. Try telling that to Steven Gerrard though, with the Liverpool captain – the scorer of a hat-trick against Everton at Anfield last season – aiming to become the outright fourth highest scorer in these fixtures with a goal.

Liverpool will welcome a strike from anyone though, and with the clash expected to be as keenly contested as ever – the 20 red cards issued in Premier League history make it the competition’s fixture with the most sendings off – both sides will be looking to make the most of the opportunities they get, and both could take one.

Everton’s status as favourites simply doesn’t suit them and although they will once again do their utmost to get one over on the opponent they enjoy success against more than any other, the Reds are slowly beginning to come together under Rodgers and should do enough to earn a point.

That outcome might not be in the script, but Everton could have missed out on the delivery of theirs yet again.

Prediction: Everton 1 Liverpool 1

Mark Jones – follow me on Twitter

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