Everton welcome Liverpool to Goodison Park in their richest vein of form for many years, and perhaps with it, more confident of achieving a positive result than ever before.
The Toffees boast a 100% start to the Premier League with four wins from four matches, whilst The Reds were humiliated in their last outing as they lost 7-2 to Aston Villa having previously also had a perfect start.
It's not often in recent years going into this encounter the blue half have been looking down on the red, and Everton will be desperate to keep it that way beyond Saturday.
In truth, it has been a long time since the Goodison Park club got the better of the fixture, in their current form they may not get a better opportunity.
Some pluses for Liverpool have been the return of many star players from layoffs and Roberto Firmino finding his goalscoring knack once more whilst away with Brazil. The number nine scored twice against Bolivia last week.
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Everton team news
Blues boss Carlo Ancelotti faces some selection headaches ahead of the first Merseyside derby of the 2020/21 campaign as they go in search of their first victory in the fixture for 10 years.
Captain Seamus Coleman is expected to return from a hamstring strain which saw him miss international duties for the Republic of Ireland, however, Yerry Mina is a major doubt with a thigh issue.
New arrival from Norwich City, Ben Godfrey could well be the man to step in should Mina miss out.
Both Allan and Andre Gomes look to have fully recovered from knocks in time for the clash.
The in-form front three of James Rodriguez, Richarlison, and top scorer Dominic Calvert-Lewin should all be fit and raring to go.
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Liverpool team news
Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp welcomes back Thiago and Sadio Mane who have both recovered and isolated after positive Covid-19 tests.
Midfielder Naby Keita is also expected to be involved after he returned a positive test that later turned out to be a false-positive and has now been rectified by a negative result.
Captain Jordan Henderson had missed the start of the season with a knee problem, played for England during the break, and should come straight back into the side.
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Predicted lineups
Everton: Pickford, Coleman, Keane, Godfrey, Digne, Allan, Doucoure, Gomes, James, Richarlison, Calvert-Lewin.
Liverpool: Adrian, Alexander-Arnold, Gomez, Van Dijk, Robertson, Fabinho, Henderson, Thiago, Salah, Firmino, Mane.
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How to watch
The game will be shown live on BT Sport and from 12.00 with kick-off at 12.30pm on Saturday 17th October.
