Saturday 6^th Feb – kick off 12:45

An early kick off sees Everton make the short trip across Stanley Park in the 212^th Merseyside derby.

History

This is one of the most famous derby matches in world football.  Apart from cup competitions, these clubs have never met outside of the top tier of English football.  Last season, Liverpool won at Goodison Park and drew at Anfield.

The win across Stanley park should have been by a greater margin than the 2-0 score line as Everton failed to turn up, not managing a shot on target all game.  Even so, Everton had the first chance as Cahill missed a header from close range – he was destined to have a forgettable day.  Liverpool dominated possession and it was just a matter of when the first goal would come and how many we would end with.  On 58 minutes Torres opened the scoring after good work by Alonso and Keane.  It took just another 3 minutes for him to double the lead; Kuyt was tackled when about to shoot and the loose ball fell to Torres who rammed the ball into the roof of the net.  He could have had a hat-trick but it was ruled out for a foul by Kuyt in the build up.  The last notable action saw Cahill given a foul for a trademark nasty tackle on Xabi Alonso, but half of the Goodison faithful had already gone home.

The return fixture was a much more even affair, with both sides having good chances in the first half.  The opening goal, scored by Liverpool, actually began with the Toffees appealing for a penalty after Anichebe went down under a Skrtel tackle.  The referee, who had a good view of the incident, waved play on and Liverpool broke quickly; Riera finding Gerrard all alone and the captain drilled a shot past Howard.  Liverpool looked the most likely after this, but gave away a free kick after a silly foul by Yossi, on 87 minutes.  Arteta swung the ball over and Cahill headed home for a goal that deflated Liverpool.

Stats

This fixture has been played a total of 211 times over the years, in league and cup, including the League Cup final in 1984 and the F.A. Cup finals of 1986 and 1989 – all won by Liverpool.  It is also the fixture which has resulted in more red cards than any other in the Premier League – 17 in 34 meetings.

Head to head

Total

Liverpool – 82

Everton – 65

Draw – 64

At Anfield

Liverpool – 38

Everton – 24

Draw – 33

Injuries

Liverpool are still without Torres (knee), Benayoun (rib), Johnson (knee) and Aurelio (calf), but El Zhar and Kelly are both available for selection.

Everton have some better news in their injury ravaged season – physioroom.com believes that Arteta, Yobo and Jagielka could all be fit for this tie, although Hibbert is still nursing his groin.

Form

Liverpool have ground out some form recently, 14 points from the last 18 despite not playing at their best.  The 4 dropped points came in the hugely disappointing games against Stoke and Wolves and Liverpool will need to be much improved if they are to come away with a win.

Everton are on a similar run, taking 13 from the last 6 games, including a 2-0 win over big-spending Man City.  Having started the season looking like relegation contenders, they are up to 9^th – 9 points behind Liverpool, having played a game less.

Teams

Liverpool – (from) Reina, Cavalieri, Agger, Kyrgiakos, Degen, Skrtel, Carragher, Insua, Babel, Mascherano, Maxi, Gerrard, Kuyt, Lucas, Riera, Ngog.

I fully expect Rafa to start the game with Lucas and Mascherano in the middle of the park with Gerrard just behind Ngog.  This will put Kuyt on the right and Riera on the left.  Carragher should continue at right back.

Possible starting 11 – Reina, Carragher, Skrtel, Kyrgiakos, Insua, Mascherano, Aquilani, Lucas, Kuyt, Riera, Gerrard, Ngog.

Everton – (from) Howard, Nash, Baines, Heitinga, Yobo, Jagielka, Distin, Senderos, Neville, Pienaar, Fellaini, Bilyletdinov, Cahill, Rodwell, Arteta, Saha, Vaughan, Yakubu, Anichebe.

A lot depends on the fitness of several key players for Everton – Jagielka and Arteta should walk into this team if they are fit.

Starting 11 last time out – Howard, Baines, Heitinga, Neville, Senderos, Donovan, Pienaar, Osman, Fellaini, Saha, Cahill.

TV

The match is scheduled to be shown on Sky Sports 1.

My prediction

Everton 0 – 1 Liverpool

Liverpool must raise their game and I think they will – the victory against Bolton will have offered some confidence to Gerrard, Kyrgiakos, Insua, Riera and even Lucas.

Everton play with power and pace and I expect them to challenge us at set pieces – beware of Cahill.  Fellaini is a powerful midfielder but prone to fouling (as is Cahill) so a strong referee could be important.

On paper this is a very close match, but derby games are never predictable.  The referee will have a part to play in what is often a fiery encounter and it may finish with less than 22 players on the pitch.  Martin Atkinson has shown no red cards but 78 yellows in 19 games this season and I think he may be busy again, although hopefully it won’t spoil the game.

Overall, I think it could be a scrappy affair that we win by the odd goal.