Liverpool will host Everton in the Premier League on Monday, desperate to get their season back on track with a victory in the Merseyside Derby.
Liverpool, who will be up against Everton in the next game, are in atrocious form coming into this game. And they have failed to win their last four league matches. Jurgen Klopp’s men are currently tenth in the league table, and they are 12 points adrift of a top-four place.
Missing out on the UEFA Champions League will be a catastrophic blow for the Reds. And it remains to be seen whether they can close the gap with the top-four rivals in the coming weeks. Meanwhile, Everton are 18th in the league table. And only Southampton have picked up fewer points than them in the league.
They are in real danger of going down this season. And Sean Dyche will be hoping to pull off a morale-boosting result at Anfield on Monday. The newly-appointed Everton manager helped his side grind out a massive win over Arsenal in their last league game. And it remains to be seen whether Everton can pull off another upset here.
Dyche still has a sizable task to stop the Everton ship from sinking. And another big win will likely set to tone for a potentially successful relegation-saving effort. The Hard Tackle takes a closer look at the encounter ahead of the latest meeting between the two sides.
Monday: Merseyside derby action returns to Anfield 🔴#LIVEVE pic.twitter.com/RxpVneteQM
— Liverpool FC (@LFC) February 9, 2023
Team News and Tactics
Liverpool
The Reds are already reeling with the number of injury problems and they have been handed a fresh blow ahead of the Merseyside Derby. Midfielder Thiago Alcantara has been ruled out for a few weeks. And his absence could prove to be damaging for the home side.
Liverpool are already without Arthur Melo, Luis Diaz, Virgil van Dijk, Ibrahima Konate, and Roberto Firmino. Having said that, most of them are back in training and they could be back on the pitch soon. Liverpool are likely to line up in a 4-3-3 formation against Everton, with Alisson Becker in goal.
Trent Alexander-Arnold and Andrew Robertson are set to reprise their roles as the full-backs. Their creativity will be crucial to Liverpool breaking down the opposition here. Joel Matip will partner with Joe Gomez at the heart of the defence.
In the Liverpool midfield, Fabinho will operate as the defensive midfielder, looking to break up the Everton play. Club captain Jordan Henderson is set to start along with Naby Keita. Liverpool will hope to have a compact midfield in place and protect their defence which has been vulnerable all season.
Darwin Nunez is set to lead the line for Liverpool alongside January signing Cody Gakpo and Mohamed Salah. Players like Fabio Carvalho, Harvey Elliott, and Curtis Jones will be backup options for Jurgen Klopp.
Probable Lineup (4-3-3): Alisson; Alexander Arnold, Matip, Gomez, Robertson; Henderson, Fabinho, Keita; Salah, Nunez, Gakpo
Everton
The Toffees will be without the services of Nathan Patterson, James Garner, and Andros Townsend. All three players are ruled out with injuries for the game between Liverpool and Everton on Monday.
Meanwhile, Dominic Calvert-Lewin sustained a hamstring injury against Arsenal. And it remains to be seen whether he is fit to start here. The Toffees are likely to start in a 4-5-1 formation, with Jordan Pickford in goal.
Seamus Coleman and Vitaliy Mykolenko will be deployed as the full-backs. Conor Coady is set to partner James Tarkowski at the heart of defence. Tarkowski scored the winning goal against Arsenal, and he was exceptional at the back against the league leaders.
In the wide areas, Dwight McNeil and Alex Iwobi will look to add flair and pace during transitions. Dyche will look to outnumber the Liverpool midfield and control the proceedings. Amadou Onana is set to start alongside Idrissa Gueye and Abdoulaye Doucoure.
All three players are quite good defensively, and Liverpool will find it difficult to break through them. Neal Maupay is set to lead the line for the visitors, with Calvert-Lewin’s participation uncertain.
Probable Lineup (4-5-1): Pickford; Coleman, Coady, Tarkowski, Mykolenko; McNeil, Doucoure, Gueye, Onana, Iwobi; Maupay
Key Stats
- Liverpool are undefeated in 26 of their last 27 matches against Everton in all competitions.
- Liverpool have failed to score in their last three matches in the Premier League.
- Everton are unbeaten in four of their last six matches against Liverpool in all competitions.
- The most common result of matches between Liverpool FC and Everton FC is 0-0. 13 matches have ended with this result.
- Mohamed Salah has been involved in 99 Premier League goals in 103 games at Anfield (70 goals, 29 assists). He could become the 13th player to reach 100 goal involvements at a single ground in the competition. And if he does it in this match, he would be the third quickest after Alan Shearer at Ewood Park (74 games) and Thierry Henry at Highbury (92 games).
Player to watch
Darwin Nunez
Everton will look to make life difficult for Liverpool here. The Reds are lacking in confidence and form right now, and this will be a difficult outing. Breaking down a Sean Dyche defence will be an uphill task for the home side, and they will need Darwin Nunez’s movement.
The Uruguayan striker’s physicality and directness could be the game-changer for Liverpool here. Furthermore, his pace could prove to be vital against the likes of Conor Coady and James Tarkowski, players who are not particularly quick.
Prediction
Liverpool 1-1 Everton
Both teams are in poor form right now, but Everton will be full of confidence against Liverpool after beating league leaders Arsenal. That said, the form goes out of the window in a derby, and this one should be no different.
This is likely to be a close contest with a lot at stake for both Liverpool and Everton. They will not want to end up on the losing side. A defeat against bitter rivals would be rock-bottom for both teams, and they will likely cancel each other out and share the spoils. The Hard Tackle predicts a 1-1 draw here.