In the second Merseyside Derby of the season, Everton will travel just a short distance over Stanley Park to take on Liverpool at Anfield on Monday night. This season, there hasn’t been much for either team to get excited about, so this matchup may serve as a springboard to launch one side’s campaign.
A struggling Liverpool meets Everton as they sit in the 10th position in the League table. The Reds are subjected to a lot of criticism lately. Will Jurgen Klopp be able to take a win against the Toffeemen?
Liverpool vs Everton: Match Preview
Liverpool are still the overwhelming favorite going into the match, and for good reason—they have only lost one of the previous 25 Liverpool derbies.
Everton were one of six teams to defeat Liverpool at Anfield consecutively that season, snapping their 22-year home winning streak against the blue half of Merseyside. Now in 2023, Jurgen Klopp’s team is on an equally terrible run as they have not yet picked up a league victory since the beginning of the year.
The Reds have only earned one point from their first four games of 2023, and they are now in ninth place and eliminated from both of the domestic tournaments they won last season. Additionally, they haven’t scored in their past three Premier League games, one of which being a 0-0 tie with Chelsea at Anfield, which was the first time in 33 league games that they had failed to score at home.
They appeared to be a shell of the team that came agonizingly close to earning an unprecedented quadruple less than a year ago in their most recent game, a 3-0 hammering at Wolverhampton Wanderers. In front of a throng, Everton last triumphed here in 1999.
Coming to Anfield is generally a task in and of itself, but Everton have had just two victories in their previous 27 away Premier League contests. The Toffees will hope Sean Dyche’s style of play can help them achieve more dramatic results like the one they achieved last weekend against league-leading Arsenal in his first away game as manager.
At a boisterous Goodison Park, Everton outran and outfought the stunned Gunners in a commanding performance as the hosts prevailed 1-0. Dyche presided over the first of Liverpool’s six consecutive home losses when he was managing Burnley in 2021, so he has been here and done it before, and Evertonians will clutch to that to give them some more optimism.
Team News
After a protracted injury layoff, Diogo Jota is expected to be selected to the team, which is good news for Liverpool. Roberto Firmino and Arthur, two Brazilian players, are back in full training as well, although a start is doubtful at this time.
Joel Matip and Joe Gomez are expected to start after Klopp stated this week that Virgil van Dijk could find the match to be too soon for him. Ibrahima Konate is also out injured. Thiago is still injured and Luis Diaz is also out, but Fabinho may return after missing last week’s game.
Possible Liverpool line-up against Everton
Alisson, Alexander-Arnold, Gomez, Matip, Robertson, Henderson, Fabinho, Bajcetic, Salah, Nunez, Gakpo
What we predict at Anfield Home
Liverpool 1-0 Everton
The idea that Liverpool can go for an extended period of time without winning a league game is absurd, and this will be the ideal game for them to respond. Although the outcome of this match will not determine whether Everton avoids relegation, local bragging rights are at stake, so fans will want their team to battle and put out the same effort levels as their incredible triumph last week, regardless of the outcome.
