Liverpool and Everton go head-to-head in the 223rd Merseyside derby in history. Liverpool are hoping to get back to winning ways after two consecutive defeats in the Premier League, as well as a struggle in the cup competitions, whilst fierce rivals Everton will be hoping to secure just their second win of the season in the league, having drawn to Leicester and Arsenal, losing to Chelsea and Crystal Palace at home, and beating West Bromwich Albion 2-0. The visitors to Anfield have scored the second-highest amount of goals in the league so far this season, notching 11 goals. Despite this, the Toffees sit in 14th place, with just five points from a possible 15 so far.
Last five matches (Head-to-head)
- Liverpool 4-0 Everton (Premier League, 2013/14)
- Everton 3-3 Liverpool (Premier League, 2013/14)
- Liverpool 0-0 Everton (Premier League, 2012/13)
- Everton 2-2 Liverpool (Premier League, 2012/13)
- Liverpool 2-1 Everton (FA Cup, 2011/12)
- Matches between the two Merseyside teams are rarely short of goals, with the last five games seeing 17 goals shared between the sides. Everton have not beaten a Liverpool side managed by Brendan Rodgers, and haven't managed a victory at Anfield in 15 years, when a single goal from Kevin Campbell was enough to give Everton a win at Anfield. That game also saw Liverpool finish with nine men and Everton with 10. Red cards are unsurprisingly common in a derby of such nature, though there have only been two in the last 10 matches.
- The upside for the Toffees is that they will be facing a somewhat weaker team than the side that tore them apart at Anfield last season. Three of the four goals came from Daniel Sturridge and Luis Suárez. With the former currently injured, and Suarez entering his final month of a four-month ban, on top of being sold to FC Barcelona in the summer, Everton's defence will come up against a completely new frontline. Mario Balotelli is likely to start in attack for the Reds, whilst Adam Lallana and Raheem Sterling could play on either wing.
Brendan Rodgers has no new injury concerns ahead of the upcoming game. Despite his recovery from injury, Daniel Sturridge could make an appearance from the bench and will face a late fitness test before the game. Jordan Henderson and Philippe Coutinho could also come back into the side, having sat out Liverpool's 14-13 penalties victory against Middlesbrough in midweek. Emre Can, Joe Allen and Glen Johnson are expected back within the next 2-3 weeks, whilst Jon Flanagan remains out until the new year, having had surgery on his knee.
Everton are much less impacted on the injury front, with Seamus Coleman and Steven Pienaar expected to return for the derby on Saturday. The only long-term absentee is Ross Barkley, whose return date remains unknown. The game is an opportunity for several new players from either side to make their first appearance in a Merseyside derby, including Dejen Lovren, Adam Lallana and Javi Manquillo for Liverpool, whilst Samuel Eto'o and Muhamed Bešić could play for Everton.
Brendan Rodgers and Roberto Martinez have both been speaking to the press before the big game. Here's what they both had to say:
Rodgers on Sturridge: "We'll be very happy to have Sturridge back and we hope that can be this weekend. We've got a number of injuries that we're going to give every chance to. He is a player who's out on the field working. Him and a number of others we'll just assess nearer the time. But if he doesn't make it he won't be far off after that. He's someone that responds well to treatment. Obviously it's gone well but there are still a couple of days to go before the game. The most important thing is he's near to fitness."
Rodgers on Sterling: "I think you could probably link Raheem with every club in the world at the moment. He's a fantastic young talent. I've nothing really to add to it. There's obviously lots of speculation every day about players coming and going here at Liverpool. He's a wonderful boy who's developing very, very well here. I think him and his representatives and the people close to him know how comfortable he is here and I'm sure at some point in the future, whatever contract we're looking to work with will be sorted, but he's still got three years left and there's no rush from my perspective."
Martinez: "The last time we beat Liverpool at Anfield was September 27, so let’s hope it’s the same. When we lost 3-2 to Crystal Palace, I said it was a bit spooky. It was 3-2, they had three shots on target and there was three mistakes like last season. So let’s hope this one is as well. It affects us in a positive way in my eyes because stats are there to be broken. It’s a difficult place to go but there are many others too and we have gone and changed the stats and history. I look forward to that – it’s an extra bit of motivation."
"It has been an area that we have been quite poor and we need to improve. We need to fine tune. You sometimes have areas where you are so good that you might take it for granted. You look at the experience we have in the team. It is just making sure the focus needs to be better. That is clearly an area that we need to resolve. It is affecting scorelines. I think performances have been better than last season but we need to improve. We are a confident side. We want to make sure we get more focused, better communication and face the challenge to get back to the standards of last season."
Expected Liverpool line-up - Mignolet; Moreno, Skrtel, Lovren, Manquillo; Gerrard, Henderson; Lallana, Coutinho, Sterling; Balotelli.
Expected Everton line-up - Howard; Coleman, Distin, Jagielka, Baines; McCarthy, Barry; McGeady, Naismith, Mirallas; Lukaku.
