Everton vs Liverpool

Everton V Liverpool

Sunday, 17th October – 13:30 GMT
Venue: Goodison Park
TV Coverage: Sky Sports HD1

Merseyside derbies have always been enthralling to watch, but we don’t recall a clash between Everton and Liverpool representing as much importance as Sunday’s meeting at Goodison Park, where the pair find themselves near the very foot of the table with the loser almost certain to spend the next seven days floundering in the relegation zone.

With the Red side of Merseyside in turmoil, on and off the pitch, with the club no nearer to a finalised sale and performances on the pitch leaving a lot to be desired, you could argue that Everton have never had stronger claims for the win. But the omens do favour Liverpool, whom haven’t lost a Merseyside derby since going down 3-0 at Goodison Park in 2006. Since then, Liverpool have won five of the last seven league contests and were they to leave Goodison with all the spoils on Sunday, would probably reward loyal punters with their biggest ever return, odds wise, in a Merseyside derby.

But it’s Everton who have recently turned a corner with their first win of the season coming away at Birmingham City a fortnight ago. So will the Toffees double up with victory over Liverpool? Or will the Reds once again reign supreme on Merseyside as they also go in search of just their second win of the campaign, their first since August.

Everton

League Position: 17th
League Form: LDLDW

A dire run of six matches without registering a win finally came to an two weeks ago at St Andrews, which ironically killed of Birmingham’s remarkable unbeaten home run of 18 matches. And the three points gained from their Birmingham exploits was enough to see them jump out of the bottom three and as a result relegate Liverpool down to 18th position, so you could say it was the perfect weekend for the Toffees, who effectively killed two birds with one stone and with their tails now firmly up and wagging, will fancy their chances of ending another lengthy streak without winning, this time the seven-match run without winning a Merseyside derby.

A huge sigh relief rang out around Everton as David Moyes’ team finally ended an alarming drought of six games without a league victory. However, the lack of form and confidence from their strikers is still very much a talking point, with Everton’s winning goals against Birmingham coming from the head of Tim Cahill and the foot of a Birmingham defender. All that matters was picking up that elusive win, but in the gran scheme of things Everton still haven’t quite managed to shake off those forward cobwebs which have seen the likes of Louis Saha, Yakubu and Jermaine Beckford fail to score a league goal all season.

Seven games down and Everton have only conjured six goals, failing to score in just over half of their fixtures so far. It’s a huge problem which needs resolving fast, but David Moyes has been scrathing his head over a possible resolution for some time now and the best he can come up with is bunging Marouane Fellani and Tim Cahill up front. The pair are menacing in the air but are largely ineffective on the ground, which is why goals have dried up since last season. Yakubu has started up top for Everton’s recent games but he’s been useless up till now, so unless Liverpool put in another defensive horror show like they did last time out against Blackpool, you’re racking your brain as to how and who will score for Everton on Saturday. Funnily enough, their last league goals at home to Liverpool came via an own goal, so perhaps that’s an avenue punters should explore as we don’t hold out much hopes on the likes of Fellani, Yakubu and Beckford.

Defensively the Toffees have done OK, while their general performances have been very good. Creating chances hasn’t even been a problem, the converting part has. However, their plans have been disrupted by injuries to key personnel, the sort of personnel which would have brought both stability and creativity to the fore. Steven Pienaar, a player with a quick turn of foot and ambitious with his runs, is missing with a groin problem while defender Phil Jagielka, Everton’s most accomplished centre-back, is a massive doubt with a hamstring injury sustained while training with England. Although, Louis Saha could return to to bolster Everton’s attacking options.

Liverpool

League Position: 18th
League Form: WDLDL

If you were to grab yourself a tent and drop it on top of Anfield, you’ll have yourself a circus. I’ve not seen such controversial scenes involving the ownership of a football club since, well, forever. For most the international was a God send, a week or so away from the day-to-day life of the Premier League where players would have some time away to reflect and relax. That hasn’t been possible for Liverpool, who have seen just about everything during a calamitous week which has involved everything from an embarrassing court case to their own owners suing the club for $1.6 billion in damages. It’s not even the stuff of films, it’s the sort of material nightmares are made up of.

So while Liverpool’s nightmare season continues reach horrifying new heights, the players have to somehow, almost impossibly, put the well publicised off-pitch chaos to the back of minds and focus on a must win Merseyside derby which, should they lose, would result in Liverpool remaining in the relegation for at least another seven days, possibly for the foreseeable future if the club’s destiny isn’t finalised soon, with a nine-point deduction for entering administration very much a realistic outcome.

Amidst the chaos, the team is at rock-bottom. It has been well over a month since the team last celebrated victory in the Premier League, while defeat last time out to Blackpool at Anfield was officially an all-time low for a club which was previously steep in history and tradition but has seen all that tarnished by two clowns by the names of Tom Hicks and George Gillette. But as we’ve already pointed out, the players have to somehow blank out the mess which is Liverpool FC and concentrate of digging the actually team out of a gigantic hole which has been dung by themselves following a disastrous start to the season, where Liverpool have won just one of their opening seven matches – A routine 1-0 win over West Brom at home – and find themselves in the precarious position of 18th.

Burnley 4-0: Liverpool’s only away win in the Premier League in 2010. A total of twelve away fixtures have been contested by Liverpool in 2012 and yet all they have to show for themselves is an expected rout of relegated Burnley, who went down with the worst defensive record in Premiership history. We’re looking for inspiration, some evidence as to why Liverpool are a sublime bet at 2/1 in a fixture they’ve generally come good in but we’re struggling, badly. If you put aside their impressive record against their local rivals then you have nothing, no reason whatsoever as to why Liverpool should be backed. And to add insult to injury, Dirk Kuyt is facing months on the sidelines with an ankle injury, Daniel Agger is also a major doubt for Saturday’s clash while Fernando Torres has only just returned to first-team training but has looked a wantaway forward all season. Who would dare wish to be in Roy Hodgson’s shoes?!

Match Prediction: Draw – 3.30 SkyBet

I don’t think I’ve ever backed Everton to win in the Merseyside derby, but I came within a whisker of doing so this time around.

Liverpool are in dire straights right now, and that includes in every single department, on and off the field of play. Not only is the financial state of the club a complete and utter mess, the players have been performing to an unsatisfactory level all season and have clearly been feeling the strain and pressure from everything that’s going on around them. Their best player has been Steven Gerrard, and by some distance, but their match winner, Fernando Torres, hasn’t turned up this season and until he does, we fear the worst for Liverpool as the potential is there for them to embark upon their worst run in the Premier League for some time, as well as the possibility of a drastic finishing position.

At the same time, Everton haven’t exactly been blowing teams away, far from it in fact, and with their issues regarding the forwards still very much prominent, we would feel uneasy and by no means confident backing them either. So the draw is the only logical prediction, as two sides steeped in history and success contest a relegation six-pointer.

Over/Under: Under 2.5 Goals – 1.73 totesport
Correct Score: 0-0 Draw – 9.75 Unibet
Half-Time/Full-Time Betting: Draw/Draw – 5.00 bWin

Match Odds:

Everton – 2.50 StanJames
Draw – 3.30 SkyBet
Liverpool – 3.20 BetFred

Everton V Liverpool

Kick-off: Sunday 29th November – 13:30 GMT

Venue: Goodison Park

TV Coverage: Sky Sports 1

Everton

League Position: 14th

Recent Form: DLDWL

Where has it all gone wrong with Everton? Two bitter defeats in quick succession has left the Toffees’ rocking and another defeat this Sunday in the Merseyside Derby would not only be a shameful third on the spin but it could actually see them go just one point above the relegation zone if those below them better their result, which, after watching Everton of late, is a strong possibility. However, just like Liverpool, a win on Sunday could revitalise their season, whereas defeat could actually be catastrophic. This is what makes Sunday’s meeting so intriguing and a clash that shouldn’t be missed at all costs.

This will be Everton’s third game within the space of seven days and with the injuries piling up, a batch of fixtures is never what you want nor need. However, David Moyes has still been selecting some strong sides of late but without any real on-pitch product. They were convincingly beaten 3-0 by the Champions last Saturday, at Old Trafford, while they were embarrassed yet again when Hull City, a team catching them near the foot of the table, beat them 3-2. In game that was certainly winnable, Everton were shocking. I dare any Everton supporter to watch their sides performance in the opening 45 minutes as it was laughable and, from an Everton’s fans perspective, cry able. Their defending at times was stuff of nightmares, and that has generally where it’s all gone wrong for Everton this season – in their defending.

Away from Goodison Park, Everton have managed just two wins in seven, a terrible return for your money. At home it hasn’t been a much happier story, with Everton managing the same amount of wins, albeit with a few more draws. 2-3-1 is their home record thus far, but you have to stretch back four home fixtures ago for Everton’s last home success against a poor travelling Blackburn Rovers teams. Their only other home victory to date came against Wigan Athletic, a team that shipped nine goals last Sunday, so their home credentials look pretty poor heading into what is, for the fans anyway, Everton’s most anticipated fixture of any Premiership season.

If Everton are to take anything from this game then they will need to keep it tight at the back, giving absolutely nothing away. This is something the Everton defence has struggled with this season, with Tim Howard in the Everton goal failing to keep a clean sheet in his previous three home starts, with Stoke City, Wolves & Aston Villa, all putting one past the US goalkeeper. Both Stoke & Wolves were sides Everton should have beaten but they could only manage draws in both.

Going on their recent displays, their trips to Manchester & Hull, Everton look a terrible proposition, despite their opponents not being in inspired form themselves. However, this is a big game for the club and the players will be fully aware of just how important a win in this meeting is. It shouldn’t take a lot of effort from David Moyes to get their starting line up fired up for the encounter but, as previous clashes with Liverpool have shown, Everton do tend to petter out, especially at Goodsion Park, losing the previous two meetings there with Liverpool.

Liverpool

League Position: 7th

Recent Form: LWLDD

After only managing a draw on Sunday and crashing out of the Champions League on Tuesday, this really will be a true test of character for the Liverpool squad. It’s been a testing season for the Reds’, with results not going their way and form evidentially has taken a serious nosedive. The players have maintained their fighting talk, their apparent desire to lift the club out of the rot it’s in but all this talk is cheap and it’s time for some real action to take place, starting with a much needed set of three points against local rivals, Everton.

Everyone on Merseyside craves on the ‘Friendly Derby’ between these two bitter, local foes. However, although Liverpool are going through and awkward and sticky patch of form, this game with Everton cold be just what they need. Not an awful lot will make up for them dropping out of the Champions League but we mustn’t forget that Liverpool still need to finish in the top four and with results not going at all their way at current, a win at Goodison could be the boost in confidence the players quite obviously need.

Liverpool’s defending was again their downfall last Saturday as they played out a disappointing 2-2 draw with man City. However, Liverpool could count themselves lucky as they could of lost that game. Nevertheless, Liverpool slowly march on, although not in the preferred circumstance. The reds’ have now drawn two on the spin at Anfield, while their away record doesn’t paint a brighter picture. Four defeats in six already has paved the way for an early Liverpool demise and defeat at Everton could see drop to as low as tenth.

Liverpool in recent seasons have prided themselves on a tight Scrooge like defence. However, that certainly hasn’t been the case this time around with Liverpool already conceding a mammoth tally of 20 goals, 12 of which have come while on their travels, with Liverpool’s defence shipping two goals a game on the road. In their six away outings thus far, Pepe Reina has yet to keep his first clean sheet, while their only clean sheet in eight games came in the 2-0 home victory over Man Utd. Both Torres & Gerrard were missing in that win but Steven Gerrard is back in the fray, but the clubs captain has yet to reach his own personal heights of last season and questions are beginning to surround the English midfielder over his Liverpool commitment and desire at present.

Head-to-Head (Last 10):

Everton W: 2 Liverpool W: 6 Draws: 3

Liverpool certainly hold the edge over their local rivals and are unbeaten in this Merseyside Derby in four matches, two of those coming at Goodison Park. To make matters sound a whole lot worse for Everton fans, Liverpool have won on their last two visits to Goodison, beating the Toffees’ 2-0 last season, with an injured Fernando Torres stealing the limelight in that clash, while they won 2-1 the season before.

The last five meetings at Goodison Park hasn’t produced a single draw, with Liverpool winning three and Everton claiming two, although, Everton’s last victory at home to Liverpool came three years ago in a 3-0 success.

Match Verdict:- Liverpool to WIN – 2.25 BlueSquare

We haven’t got a Liverpool prediction right in what seems an eternity so perhaps following us in on the Reds’ isn’t a too wise decision. However, the Liverpool’s players should be extra motivated after being knock-out of the Champions League in midweek and what better then a local Derby to exert some of your frustration. Liverpool have won on their previous two visits to Goodison Park, albeit with Fernando Torres leading the line, but with Steven Gerrard back leading them forward, perhaps not yet at his glistening best, we expect a big performance from Liverpool, hopefully with a three point end product.

Match Odds:

Everton – 3.75 SkyBet

Draw – 3.40 Bet365

Liverpool – 2.25 BlueSquare

SoccerBetting Value Tip: Steven Gerrard Last Goalscorer – 7.50 SkyBet