It's the Merseyside Derby this weekend with Liverpool crossing Stanley Park to face Everton at Goodison Park. This will be the last Merseyside derby to be held at the stadium before Everton move to their new stadium at the Bramley Moore docks.
Liverpool have been in excellent form. They have lost just one game all season, an early 1-0 defeat to Nottingham Forest, and are beginning to emerge as the favorites for the Premier League.
Liverpool were held to a draw in a dramatic contest with Newcastle United in the midweek fixtures. Fabian Schar scored a 90th-minute equalizer after a Mohamed Salah brace had given Liverpool a one-goal lead.
However, Arne Slot will not be deterred and will want to see his side bounce back with a win against their arch-rivals. This will be Slot's first Merseyside Derby and he has experienced a similar fixture given he took charge of numerous De Klassiker (Ajax-Feyenoord) matches.
Everton, meanwhile, are struggling. They have become stagnant in recent years and it looks like they might finally be relegation candidates. They have only won three games all season.
They did win 4-0 in the midweek fixtures with Orel Mangala being singled out for praise by the Everton faithful on social media. It was arguably the most comfortable win they have had for years and it helped to create a gap between themselves and the bottom three.
Sean Dyche's work has been difficult this season so far and he will need to use every bit of footballing experience to get a win for Everton in a particularly important Merseyside derby.
Form Guide - Last Five Games
Everton
- Won: 4-0 v Wolves
- Lost: 4-0 v Manchester United
- Drew: 0-0 v Brentford
- Drew: 0-0 v West Ham
- Lost: 1-0 v Southampton
Liverpool
- Drew: 3-3 v Newcastle United
- Won: 2-0 v Man City
- Won: 2-3 v Southampton
- Won: 2-0 v Aston Villa
- Won: 2-1 v Brighton
Team News
Everton
Everton are carrying a few knocks according to Sean Dyche with Michael Keane being a slight doubt. Tim Iroegbunam, James Garner, and Youseff Chermiti are still out.
Liverpool
Alexis Mac Allister will miss this game. He received his fifth yellow card of the season against Newcastle United and he is suspended for this fixture.
Liverpool are still without Ibrahima Konate, Conor Bradley, Allison, Kostas Tsimikas, Diogo Jota, and Federico Chiesa.
Possible Lineup
Everton
Pickford (GK), Young, Tarkowski, Brathwaite, Mykolenko, Ndiaye, Gueye, Mangala, McNeil, Doucoure, Calvert-Lewin
Liverpool
Kelleher (GK), Alexander-Arnold, Quansah, Van Dijk, Robertson, Gravenberch, Szoboszlai, Jones, Salah, Diaz, Nunez
Match Facts
This will be the last Derby held at Goodison Park. Both sides have 41 wins each at the stadium so a win here would secure bragging rights that date back to the 19th century.
Everton
Everton have only scored four goals in their past five matches. Their 1 goal per game in the Premier League is the fourth worst in the entire division.
The Toffees are averaging the least amount of possession per game (40.6%). Their failure to retain the ball could be a major reason why they are struggling.
Their five clean sheets so far this season are the third most. Jordan Pickford is still proving that he is one of the best goalkeepers in the division.
Liverpool
Mohamed Salah is the Premier League's top goalscorer so far this season. He has 13 goals and is on pace to match his scoring exploits from his first season in the Premier League.
Liverpool's seven clean sheets are the most in the league so far this season. That is a testament to the defensive aspect of Arne Slot's tactics given the injuries to keepers that Liverpool have suffered so far this season.
The Reds have generated almost double (29.2) the expected goals that Everton have (15.0) which will make this fixture incredibly tricky for the Toffees.
Key Players
Everton: Orel Mangala
Orel Mangala had his best performance in an Everton shirt on Wednesday night during the emphatic win over Wolves. He scored a goal, completed 97% of his passes, and made seven successful defensive actions.
He will need to keep these performances up if Everton wish to improve and finish midtable this season but if he continues to have success in numerous areas of the pitch then Everton could have yet another star Belgian midfielder.
Liverpool: Mohamed Salah
Well, it wasn't going to be anyone else. Salah has 13 goals and eight assists so far in the Premier League this season. He has six goals and three assists in his last five games meaning his form is possibly better than anyone not named Omar Marmoush right now.
He is having the season of his life and you can count on him to make an impact against Everton given he has scored the second-most Premier League goals for Liverpool against their rivals. A hat trick, which at this point is likely, would take him ahead of Steven Gerrard.
How to watch the game
It's going to be an early one as the Premier League match between Everton and Liverpool kicks off at 7:30 am EST/ 4:30 am PST. The game will be shown live on USA Network and NBC.com.
