England English Football 2025/26 - Premier League, Championship & lower leagues discussion

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Everton vs Liverpool Preview (Sunday, 19.04.2026) Premier League:

Possible starting lineups:

Everton:
Pickford; O'Brien, Tarkowski, Branthwaite, Mykolenko; Garner, Gueye; McNeil, Dewsbury-Hall, Ndiaye; Beto

Liverpool:
Mamardashvili; Szoboszlai, Van Dijk, Konate, Kerkez; Gravenberch, Jones; Salah, Wirtz, Ngumoha; Isak

Everton and Liverpool will contest the first-ever Merseyside derby at Hill Dickinson Stadium, the new Everton home. As usual, here are some interesting historical information. For those who don't know, Merseyside is the name of the river that divide the city. The match had been referred to as the "Merseyside derby" in at least one national newspaper in 1955. Traditionally, the Merseyside derby was referred to as the "Friendly Derby" because of the large number of families who have both Reds (Liverpool) and Blues (Everton) supporters in them. Nevertheless, the so called "Friendly Derby" has seen more Red cards than any other in the Premier League history. Former Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard and former Everton captain Phil Neville both saw red twice in derby games. Liverpool won the reverse fixture at Anfield in September with 2:1.

Everton have a solid season. Many pundits predicted them to be involved into the relegation battle, though David Moyes composed a good team able to upset even the Big guns. For example, the Toffees demolished 3:0 Chelsea two rounds ago. Everton sit on the 8th position with 47 points, five less than fifth-placed Liverpool. A victory here would see Everton just two points away from the Champions League spot. The atmosphere in the squad is excellent, while the players confidence is high. The current form is good, Everton have three victories on the last five matches. Moyes has almost all players available, only Jack Grealish is sidelined with a foot injury. This is very unusual at this stage of the season and I think the physio should be awarded . Of course, this mean lot of "sweet issues" for Moyes.

Liverpool are in crisis, the biggest one in this millennium. The last period was like a culmination. The Reds were eliminated from the Champions League after losing both home and away to PSG. Liverpool suffered a 4:0 aggregate defeat and should be happy with the final result, as It could easily be 8:0. To be worse, the best scorer Hugo Ekitike suffered an Achilles rupture that could sideline the Frenchman for at least 10 months. The Reds were also eliminated from the FA Cup. It was another poor performance and another high defeat - 4:0 for Manchester City. Manager Arne Slot is under huge pressure, many pundits predicted he will be replaced by Xabi Alonso. Five players are struggling with injuries. Alisson Becker, Giovanni Leoni, Conor Bradley and Wataru Endo are definitely sidelined, while Joe Gomez is rated as doubtful.

Everton vs Liverpool Prediction:


The derby matches are usually difficult to be predicted, though I don't see away win. Everton have the home advantage and this fact should not be underestimated. Everton fans will come in large number to Hill Dickinson Stadium and they will strongly support their players. Liverpool are in deep crisis, the players confidence is zero. The Reds have won just one of their last five outings across all competitions, losing the other four. To be worse, the best scorer Hugo Ekitike suffered an Achilles rupture and will be out for a longer period. Worst of all, key players - Salah and Van Dijk - are out of form. Everton should take advantage from Liverpool issues.

Everton vs Liverpool Pick: Everton +0.5 AH @ 1.67 with William Hill
 
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Brighton vs Chelsea Preview (Tuesday, 21.04.2026) Premier League:

Possible starting lineups:

Brighton:
Verbruggen; Wieffer, Dunk, Van Hecke, Kadioglu; Gross, Ayari; Minteh, Rutter, De Cuyper; Welbeck

Chelsea:
Sanchez; Gusto, Fofana, Chalobah, Cucurella; Caicedo, Fernandez; Palmer, Pedro, Neto; Delap

Brighton will welcome Chelsea to Amex on Tuesday night. The reason why this match is scheduled so early is the Blues FA Cup involvement during the upcoming weekend. As You probably know, they will face Leeds United on Sunday, in the cup semi-final at Wembley. But Rosenior asked the players to forget cup and to be fully focused on this match. The Seagulls are 9th with 47 points, while Chelsea have one more on the sixth position. Their ultimate target is a Champions League spot, but fifth-placed Liverpool are in pol-position with 55 points. However, Brighton are in solid form at the moment. They are unbeaten on the last four matches in the Premier League, winning three of them. The Seagulls managed to beat Burnley, Liverpool and Sunderland, while drew against Tottenham at New White Hart Lane. Dropping two points wasn't the worst scenario as Diego Gomez suffered a first-half knee injury. That's not all as Gomez's replacement Mitoma was also forced to leave the pitch in the latter stages of the game. Hurzeler is still waiting the latest news from the medical department. Three more players remain sidelined - James Milner, Adam Webster and Stefanos Tzimas.

Cherlsea are in poor form at the moment, they have six defeats in the last seven matches across all competitions. The only success came against lower division side Port Vale in the FA Cup. The atmosphere in the squad is poor, while the players confidence is low. Most of the defeats were without scoring, while the only match they scored was a 5:2 defeat to PSG. In the other five games Chelsea lost to Manchester United (0:1), Manchester City (0:3), Newcastle (0:1), Everton (0:3) and PSG (0:3) in the reverse fixture. It seems the club officials made a big mistake when replaced Enzo Maresca with Liam Rosenior. The French coach has no previous experience in England, which is a big handicap. Working at Strasbourg is nowhere near the Chelsea job. The fans are disappointed, most of them fearing of another blow. Just to remind You, the Blues lost 3:1 at home in the reverse fixture played in September. To be worse, Rosenior has lot of issues ahead of this match. Reece James, Levi Colwill, Jamie Bynoe-Gittens and Mykhaylo Mudryk (doping) are all sidelined, while Benoit Badiashile and Filip Jorgensen are rated as doubtful. That's not all as three players (Pedro, Estevao Willian and Enzo Fernandez) suffered injuries against Manchester United and the club doctor has the last word.

Brighton vs Chelsea Prediction:

Both Brighton and Chelsea are fighting for Europe, so the points from this game are very important. According to me, Brighton are closer to the victory. Like always, the home advantage is between the reasons. However, the current form is the key reason. While the Seagulls have three victories and one draw in the last four rounds, Chelsea recorded four defeats in the same period. Worst of all, they failed to score a single goal. In addition, Rosenior has lot of injured players - Reece James, Levi Colwill, Jamie Bynoe-Gittens, Benoit Badiashile, Filip Jorgensen, Pedro, Estevao Willian and Enzo Fernandez. Some of them may recover in time for this match, though none of them is 100% ready. It is true Brighton also have injured players (Diego Gomez and Mitoma), but Chelsea handicap is bigger. The confidence is clearly on Brighton side and I expect the Blues' misery to continue.

Brighton vs Chelsea Pick: Brighton to win @ 2.40 with Everygame
 
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