Everton will play host to long-time city rivals, Liverpool on Wednesday night.
The upcoming fixture will be the 244th meeting between the two clubs and will also see the Red half of Merseyside looking for their 100th win in the fixture.
The rivalry has earned the name The Friendly Derby due to the lack of violence between the fans and quite often families in the city of Liverpool will be split down the middle between the famous sides.
I also see it as a comment on the old adage: Scousers look out for Scousers. The city has been through so much historically, socially, and politically. It’s only natural that there would be no malice between the fans.
The first meeting between the two was only the way back in 1894. The Toffees won that game 3-0.
Funnily enough, at the end of that season, Everton were runners-up to Tom Watson’s Sunderland side and Liverpool were relegated to the second tier.
130 years on the roles are reversed. Liverpool are fighting for the title, while the Blues are battling to stay in the Premier League.
There have been so many fixtures that have been awarded legendary status in the city. We thought we would look at five fixtures we believe define the famous old rivalry.
Liverpool 7-4 Everton, 1933-34
Most sporting records that were set in 1933 have been broken and exceeded. Wally Hammond’s incredible 336 runs in a single Test innings
against New Zealand for example. That record lasted all of five years before Len Hutton surpassed it in 1938.
The Merseyside Derby at Anfield that year still holds a particular record. The highest-scoring game in this fixture’s history.
A game that encapsulates an entire city’s footballing culture with end-to-end action, free-flowing attacking football and goals… lots of them.
At the time both clubs had settled into mid-table status in England’s top-flight, with no real threat of relegation and no real chances of challenging for the domestic league.
With that in mind, both teams had a license to go out and play with freedom and that they did.
At the time it was a very young Liverpool side up against an incredibly experienced Everton team, led by the famous Dixie Dean.
While the Toffee’s legend scored two that day it wasn’t enough to deny Liverpool a famous win, that still holds a place in the record books.
Everton 3-0 Liverpool, 2006-07
Some Everton fans see this as long-time manager, David Moyes’ crowning achievement while on the touchline at Goodison Park.
During the Premier League era, wins for Everton have been few and far between. Winning just seven of the 57 games played.
This is one of only two occasions since the Premier League’s inception, that the Toffees have scored more than two in a single game against the Reds.
By no means was this a vintage Liverpool team, but it is a team that got to that year's Champions League final and had stars such as Steven Gerrard, Xabi Alonso and the underrated Dirk Kuyt.
Everton outplayed their city rivals on the day and capitalised on an uncharacteristic mistake from World Cup winner Pepe Reina to secure all three points and give Everton fans a day to remember.
Liverpool 3-1 Everton, 1985-86: FA Cup Final
The mid-80s were the peak team of this rivalry.
For three years the Merseyside clubs did battle for English football’s crown jewel, the First division.
Both teams finished first or second from 1984/85 to 1986/87.
Everton won two of those under the stewardship of legend Howard Kendall, while Liverpool’s title came under player/manager Kenny Dalglish.
The rivalry hit a crescendo at the end of the 85-86 season when they met in the FA Cup final.
It was the first time the sides had met in an FA Cup final, and both had differing motivations heading into the game.
Liverpool were looking to secure their first double and they were looking to do so during Dalglish’s first season at the helm having already picked up the league title that season.
Kendell’s boys were looking to pick themselves up having missed out on back-to-back league titles by just two points.
Gary Lineker opened the scoring in the first half in typical Lineker fashion, latching on to a terrific pass from Peter Reid.
The Reds fought back in the second half with a quickfire double on the hour mark, before Ian Rush all but confirmed the victory in the dying embers of the game, after a beautiful takedown and finish from the Wales international.
Liverpool 0-1 Everton, 1984-85
The Toffees have always suffered from a serious case of little brother syndrome regarding their neighbours.
No matter what they did, they always seemed to be upstaged.
Kendell’s side managed to win the FA Cup against Watford in 1984, but Liverpool had managed to win the Milk Cup (beating Everton in the final), the First Division and to top it all off, the European Cup.
Heading into this game in October of 1984, Everton had not beaten Liverpool in six years.
That is six years of watching your most bitter rivals stomp around Europe and England collecting trophy after trophy and not being able to do anything about it.
That was all about to change and in the most sensational way possible.
Everton won the game by a single goal, but the goal scored by Scotsman, Graeme Sharp was debatably the greatest goal ever scored in a Merseyside Derby.
Catching the ball on the half volley about 30 yards from a goal and smashing it in the top corner.
This game was a signal of Everton’s intentions that season, as they went on to lift the First Division Trophy for the first time in 15 years.
Liverpool 3-2 Everton,1988-89: FA Cup Final
This is the game that defines this derby more than any other game in the fixture’s history.
The game was played mere weeks after the horrific Hillsborough incident, both teams wore black armbands in remembrance of all those who had lost their lives.
The final was less about the football and more about the city of Liverpool making a stance, a stance of solidarity. Showing the world that the city was facing this tragedy together and that the people of Liverpool were not alone.
Before kick-off, Gerry Marsden delivered a spine-tingling rendition of You’ll Never Walk Alone at a sold-out Wembley. While the song had traditionally been sung by Liverpool fans since the '60s, both sets of fans sang along in what remains one of the most emotional and heart-wrenching moments in British football history.
It was the second all-Merseyside derby in the FA Cup final in three years and the two sides put on a game worthy of the occasion.
John Aldridge put the Reds ahead with Liverpool’s first attack.
The game was played in the traditional manner that Merseyside Derby viewers had become accustomed to. High-paced, energetic, and end-to-end.
It looked as though, King Kenny’s boys had done enough to secure a 1-0 win, but Stuart McCall prodded home a chance in the 90th minute to send the game into extra-time.
Extra time saw the game fly into action as Ian Rush scored just five minutes after the restart, but just seven minutes later, McCall doubled his tally for the day with an excellent volley from outside the box.
The climax came when, the substitute Rush, scored his second of the game with an excellent header after a superb cross from John Barnes.
And with that, Liverpool had won the cup. But this was not a day for the football. This was the day for City and it lives long in the memory in both sets of fans minds and hearts.
While the derby is not as competitive as the Evertonians may like it to be nowadays, the feeling and sentiment around the fixture remains the same.
It’s a game that is woven into the fabric of the city. A game that brings families together and divides them too. A game where no matter what happens, at the end of it the fans shake hands and say fair play.
It really is the Friendly Derby.
