England Round 9

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Liverpool vs Everton Preview:

Liverpool:
Alisson; Alexander-Arnold, Matip, Van Dijk, Tsimikas; Szoboszlai, Mac Allister, Gravenberch; Salah, Nunez, Jota

Everton:
Pickford; Patterson, Tarkowski, Branthwaite, Mykolenko; Harrison, Onana, Doucoure, Garner; Beto, Calvert-Lewin

Liverpool welcome Everton at Anfield on Saturday lunchtime in the first Merseyside derby of the season. As usual, I will start my preview with some interesting historical infos. 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 (21) 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 have better H2H record, they have lost just once in the last 27 mutual games across all competitions. The Merseyside derby have ended 0:0 more often than any other fixture in Premier League history - 12 times.

Liverpool sit on the fourth place with 17 points after the opening 8 matches. The Reds are three points adrift of co-leaders Tottenham and Arsenal, while Manchester City have one more. The last two rounds were extremely frustrating for the Reds as they dropped five from the possible six points. The story began against Tottenham in London. Liverpool lost 2:1, but mostly thanks to a big referees mistake. Luis Diaz scored a goal that was initially disallowed for offside, but the replays showed he was actually onside. Nevertheless, for the first time in VAR history, the match continued with offside as a final decision. To be worse, Curtis Jones and Diogo Jota were sent-off, Cody Gakpo sustained a knee injury, Joel Matip scored an own-goal deep into the stoppage time and Liverpool lost the match. Before the international break, the Reds played a 2:2 draw at Brighton. Liverpool had a 2:1 lead after the first half thanks to Salah's brace, but Klopp should be happy with one point from Amex because the Seagulls missed some good opportunities in the finish. The German coach has big injury and suspension worries ahead of the match. Curtis Jones will serve the second of his three-match ban, while Andy Robertson suffered a shoulder injury while on international duty with Scotland. Three more players - Cody Gakpo, Thiago Alcantara and Stefan Bajcetic are struggling with injuries.

Everton were deeply involved into the relegation battle last season. The poor results were the main reason Frank Lampard to be sacked, while the former Burnley manager Sean Dyche took the team. Everton remained in the top-flight division, so Dyche continued as head boss. The actual season also started poor, they suffered four defeats in the opening five matches of the new season. However, the last results are much better. The Toffees picked up two victories on the last three matches in the Premier League. First they beat 3:1 Brentford, then lost to Luton Town, while before the international break secured a 3:0 win over Bournemouth. Doucoure, Tarkowski and Calvert-Lewin were the scorers against Brentford, while Garner, Harrison and Doucoure found the back of the net against Bournemouth. The atmosphere in the squad is much better now, while the players confidence is higher. There is a good news for Dyche as Idrissa Gana Gueye took part in Senegal's match against Cameroon. He was initially named in the starting eleven for the match against Bournemouth, but was withdrawn after suffering an injury during the warm-up. However, Dele Alli, Seamus Coleman and Andre Gomes remain sidelined through injury.

Liverpool vs Everton Prediction:

I expect both teams to score at Anfield. Liverpool have a perfect home record, three victories on three home matches, scoring three goals in each occasion. But the loss of left-back Andy Robertson could be a big problem in defense. Everton, meanwhile, have scored seven goals on the last three matches and Calvert-Lewin is capable to upset the Reds defense. To be worse, Liverpool have kept just one clean sheet in eight top-flight matches so far this season.

Liverpool vs Everton Pick: Both teams to score - Yes @ 1.64 with Pinnacle