Football

Everton vs. Liverpool: 10 key things to know ahead of vital Merseyside derby

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6m ago

Apr 25, 2024 / 9330 Views

Evan Walker

Liverpool Travel to Everton for a huge Merseyside derby meeting on Wednesday night, with both sides desperate for Premier League points for two hugely different reasons.

Everton vs. Liverpool

Premier League (34) | Goodison Park
April 24, 2024 | 8pm (BST)

The Reds steadied the ship with a 3-1 win at Fulham last Sunday, but they still likely need to win their last five league matches to have a chance of clinching the title.

Everton may be struggling this season and are still not out of the relegation fight, but form can be irrelevant in derbies and the home faithful will be ferocious.

Here’s all you need to know with kickoff approaching.

1. Only victory will do for Liverpool

Some derbies feel even bigger than others, and this is one of them.

Liverpool know that they can go four points clear of Man City with victory, albeit having played two games more, which should act as a major incentive.

While the Fulham win was a welcome one, there are still some doubts regarding the Reds’ form, and this will be a very different test.

Failure to win would surely spell the end of the title dream, but victory would be a big shot in the arm.

2. Who’s injured for Liverpool?

Diogo Jota is out of the midweek action after injuring his hip against Fulham, with Klopp revealing the Portuguese is expected to be sidelined for two weeks.

It is a bitter blow for Liverpool, with the winger arguably their most feared attacker on current form.

Conor Bradley is also absent, having suffered an ankle problem in the 1-0 defeat against Crystal Palace – he’s not due back in training until the start of May.

Joel Matip, Thiago and Ben Doak are all long-term absentees.

3. Everton out to spoil the party

If Liverpool have enjoyed a wild ride in Jurgen Klopp‘s final season, Everton supporters will be desperate for a campaign of misery to come to an end.

The Blues have been affected by two different points deductions, putting them in real danger of relegation, and the takeover of the club still hasn’t gone through.

Sean Dyche’s men picked up a crucial 2-0 win at home to Nottingham Forest on Sunday, however, and they should now have enough to avoid the drop having put five more points on the board than Luton.

Every point still feels invaluable, though, and they would love nothing more than to damage Liverpool’s title chances.

4. Salah & Nunez to return?

With Liverpool’s injury woes easing overall, it is now a case of Klopp picking his strongest possible starting lineup at Goodison Park.

Ibrahima Konate, Alexis Mac Allister, Dominik Szoboszlai, Curtis Jones, Mohamed Salah and Darwin Nunez were all left out at the weekend, and could all return.

Joe Gomez is an option in either full-back position, but in-form Trent Alexander-Arnold needs to start, while Cody Gakpo arguably deserves to keep his place.

Predicted Liverpool XI: Alisson; Alexander-Arnold, Konate, Van Dijk, Robertson; Endo, Szoboszlai, Mac Allister; Salah, Gakpo, Nunez

5. Key Everton absentees

Everton have injuries going into the Game, not least to Beto, with the striker unavailable after suffering a horrible head injury in the win over Forest.

Lewis Dobbin, Dele Alli and Nathan Patterson are all absent, Dominic Calvert-Lewin is in doubt but has not been completely ruled out by Dyche, unlike Seamus Coleman who will miss the derby.

Possible Everton XI: Pickford; Young, Tarkowski, Branthwaite, Mykolenko; Gueye, Onana, Doucoure; Harrison, McNeil, Calvert-Lewin

6. Klopp’s special words on Trent

Speaking to the press on Tuesday, Klopp heaped praise on Alexander-Arnold, following his free-kick heroics last weekend:

“Fantastic player from the first day, outstanding talent turned into an outstanding world-class Footballer.

“It’s pretty rare as a manager to be part of such a journey for a long time. Trent never had a different manager, so it will be good for him to get new iNFLuences in the future, that’s definitely clear.

“But he can be quite happy with the steps he has made. What a good player he is – it’s crazy.

[…]

“Nothing bad to say about Trent, he is one of these stories that not a lot of clubs can really write, but he’s one people will talk about 20, 30, 40 years.

“That is really nice for a boy from West Derby, it’s probably the best you can achieve in life.”

7. Liverpool love a Goodison draw – please, not another!

There have been 12 goalless draws in Liverpool’s last 58 Premier League encounters with Everton, while 12 of the last 23 league meetings have finished in a draw.

Meanwhile, nine of the last 11 league derbies at Goodison have finished all-square, with five of the last nine being goalless.

Liverpool have drawn 13 times at Goodison in the Premier League – the most away to a club since 1992, along with Man City.

Frankly, Klopp’s men cannot afford another one this time around!

8. Did you know?

If Liverpool prevail on Wednesday, it will be their 100th win over Everton in all competitions – the Reds will also bring up 150 goals away to the Blues if they score three times.

If Salah scores twice, he will join Steven Gerrard as Liverpool’s top scorer against Everton in the Premier League with nine goals.

Liverpool have now scored in their last 20 top-flight away fixtures, which is the second-longest run in their league history after a 21-game run in the Second Division between February 1955 and February 1956.

9. Andy Madley takes charge

Andy Madley has been confirmed as the referee for Wednesday’s match, in what will be his fifth Liverpool league game of the season.

The first was the 1-1 draw away to Luton, followed by the 2-1 victory at Palace – Luis Diaz and Harvey Elliott scored late goals in those fixtures – before overseeing the 4-0 win over Bournemouth on the south coast.

Madley’s most recent Liverpool outing was the 4-1 win at home to Luton in February.

Meanwhile, David Coote is on VAR, having infamously missed Jordan Pickford’s challenge on Virgil van Dijk back in 2020, and Simon Hooper is the fourth official.