Everton vs Liverpool is the pick of the midweek Premier League fixtures. The Reds head to Goodison Park on Wednesday evening looking to keep the pressure on Arsenal and Manchester City in the title race. Everton are looking to secure their top flight status after becoming embroiled in yet another relegation battle this campaign.
In recent times, the red half of Merseyside has had the better fortune in this fixture and you have to go back to October 2010 for the last home win at Goodison Park. Mikel Arteta and Tim Cahill were the goal scorers on that occasion.
Last time round at Anfield the Toffees lost 2-0 with both goals coming from Mohammed Salah. The Blues lost Ashley Young to a second yellow card after just 37 minutes. A second-half penalty gave the Reds the lead, with the game being sealed by a second goal in extra time, the result of an error from Jordan Pickford who had kept the home side at bay for a large portion of the game.
The Sports Deck looks at both sides’ prospects with input from our writers on opposing sides.
Everton – Aitch Mikhail
Everton are hovering above the relegation zone for the third season in a row. This time there is the added concern of points deductions and appeals against the deductions. Without the deductions, Everton would sit 14th above Crystal Palace in the table and be a comfortable 12 points from relegation.
Everton play fellow relegation prospects Brentford on Saturday, so holding out for a draw may be an acceptable outcome for the Toffees who will be looking to the weekend for another three points which would give them a healthy advantage above the relegation places.
There couldn’t be more of a contrast between Everton’s last two games.
Errors across the park and the perennial lack of finishing resulted in a 6-0 loss which added to the sense of desperation the club is facing to preserve its place in the top-flight. Everton haven’t suffered such a heavy loss since the 6-2 defeat against Tottenham in 2018.
The next game against relegation rivals and fellow sanctioned club Nottingham Forest proved much more agreeable. After 27 minutes, Idrissa Gueye broke the deadlock. Before halftime, Pickford saved a tricky ball to his right, somewhat unwisely celebrating while it was still in play, but all was under control as he calmly caught the subsequent cross. Extra time in the half-brought drama, as Beto was knocked out cold after clashing heads with a forest player. Eight minutes later, he was able to give the fans a thumbs-up from the stretcher as he left the pitch.
Dwight Mc Neil sealed the victory in the 76th minute. Still, the majority of talk after the game was about Nottingham Forest’s ill-advised tweet regarding the loyalties of the VAR officials.
Ashley Young’s Response summed up the reaction to the tweet.
Liverpool – Adam Norman
The 3-1 win at Craven Cottage has cleared some of the dark clouds over Anfield in recent times. It followed on from disappointing home defeats to Atalanta and Crystal Palace and the defeat at Old Trafford in the FA Cup.
It was refreshing to see Jurgen Klopp make some changes with the likes of Alexis Mac Allister, Salah and Darwin Nunez watching on from the bench.
The performance was by no means complete and Fulham had their moments in the first half with the scores level heading into the break. The most positive aspect of the win was that some of the star players who had been off form recently realised that they are not untouchable in the starting line-up and that may give them a boost heading into the run-in.
An away game at West Ham follows this fixture and if Klopp could celebrate three away wins in a week, it would be a huge achievement considering all of the negative press around the club’s recent results.
Trent Alexander-Arnold was exceptional for large parts of the win at Fulham and could be the key to unlocking this Toffees defence. Everton struggle for goals at home but will fancy their chances against a side with just one clean sheet from their last eleven games in all competitions.
The home side will look to frustrate the title chasers and that is where they are their strongest, with question marks over the form of the Liverpool forward players but they may lack that cutting edge to trouble at the other end of the pitch.
Lifting the Premier League title in May seems like a longshot with other results needing to go in Liverpool’s favour but a derby win in Klopp’s final Merseyside Derby would be the sweetest of all 11, soon to be 12, victories against the club’s fiercest rivals.
Everton vs Liverpool Score Prediction
Aitch Mikhail – 1-0 A turgid Dyche masterclass with moments of brilliance at both ends.
Adam Norman – It may take a while to break them down, but it should be an away win. The win over Forest makes this one less important than it could have been. There may be more focus on the weekend’s six-pointer. 0-2.