Liverpool vs Everton: Preview and Prediction
Scenes at the Anfield will heat up on 24th April when Liverpool city’s two biggest football clubs will be gracing the same field. As the host, Liverpool FC will be summoned by the arch-rivals Everton in the second Merseyside Derby of the 2021-22 Premier League season on Sunday. It will be a mouth-watering encounter between not just two teams but also their managers who hold the elite tag under their names.
The reds are rigorously chasing the Manchester City side and are just a single point behind the current crown holders of the English top-flight league. They have maintained their place in the top half of the standings throughout the campaign and now, are ready to march towards the top. After awarding the club their first-ever Premier League glory, the German gaffer Jurgen Klopp wants the golden generation of Liverpool to do it again.
While the legendary Chelsea midfielder Frank Lampard is fighting a relegation battle with the Blues after taking over the charge just a couple of months ago. They have indulged in an elimination fight with Burnley and will be just inches away from the relegation zone if they fail to claim any points from this fixture. Fans are hoping that the Toffees successfully save their legacy as they have never been relegated to the English second division in the 30 years old history of this league.
Current Form
All eyes will be on the star Egyptian forward who is fond of delivering on the big stage
Liverpool entered into the Great English Red derby and concluded by destroying the Manchester United side in a one-sided saga. The high-profile clash saw each Liverpool forward bagging at least a goal while retaining the mind-boggling number of 72% ball possession. Sadio Mane and Luis Diaz scored each while star attacker Mohamed Salah scored twice against his favourite opponents.
On the other hand, an injury-time equaliser from the Brazilian striker Richarlison kept their survival hopes alive against Leicester City in their recent fixture. Everton is going through a mixed patch as they stunned Manchester United before hosting Leicester at Goodison Park but also lost a crucial game against Burnley in the same week.
In the previous face-off between these two combatants, Liverpool stormed the counterparts to take it all in front of over 39k spectators at the Goodison Park. At that time, the former Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez used to be in charge of the Blues before his exit from the club in January. It was also the first occasion since 1982 when Liverpool scored four or more goals at Everton’s home arena.
Head to Head Record
The city rivals have faced each other 239 times across all competitions since their meeting in 1894. Liverpool is leading the head-to-head count with 96 victories over the Everton side who have registered 67 victories while the number of drawn fixtures is 76.
When Everton defeated them by 2-0 at Anfield in the 2020-21 edition of the Premier League, they finally ended a winless drought of 11 years against the Reds. Liverpool’s triumph earlier this season also broke a tiny 3-match unbeaten run of the Toffees in this rivalry.
Team News
The 22-year-old central defender Ibrahima Konate was excluded from the starting eleven against Manchester United as part of Klopp’s rotation policy and is expected to stay on the bench to be fresh for the upcoming UCL semi-finals with Villarreal. Star striker Roberto Firmino has reportedly fastened up his recovery from a foot injury and is likely to be back in action in this fixture.
Van de Beek is charged up for a Manchester United return after the arrival of Erik ten Hag
England international Dominic Calvert-Lewin has suffered a minor injury that will keep him out of the action for the next 10 to 15 days. He has joined the list consisting of Donny van de Beek and Andre Gomes who is also ruled out from the Merseyside Derby. A cameo appearance coming from the substitute bench may strengthen the contention of Dele Alli who is craving for a start.
Predicted Starting Lineups
Liverpool (4-3-3): Alisson Becker; Trent Alexander-Arnold, Joel Matip, Virgil van Dijk, Andrew Robertson; Jordan Henderson, Fabinho, Thiago Alcantara; Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane, Luis Diaz
Everton (4-3-3): Jordan Pickford; Seamus Coleman, Yerri Mina, Ben Godfrey, Vitaliy Mykolenko; Allan, Fabian Delph, Alex Iwobi; Anthony Gordon, Richarlison, Demarai Gray
Prediction
In every manner, the Reds are the hot favourites to win this contest against the raging Everton side on home turf. As the circumstances are going to be very hard for the Blues if they are aiming to turn the tables in the second Merseyside Derby of the season.