GW 14: Liverpool vs. Everton

Another brilliant derby game to watch this weekend is Liverpool against Everton. With both teams really looking good lately this clash looks to be a crucial fixture for both sides to sustain their form. Liverpool of course are still unbeaten after the first 13 matches and are in 2nd place, only 2 points behind the incredible Manchester City. Everton are also playing very well at the moment winning 5 of their last 7 matches. Their only loss in this period came against Manchester United when they lost 2-1. Marco Silva has clearly built up some form within this Everton side as they have made a huge improvement from the start of the season where they only won 1 of their first 6 games. In the Premier League era, Liverpool have dominated this fixture with 22 Liverpool wins and only 9 wins for Everton, along with 21 draws. You might expect it to be a similar story this time, but Everton have a number of ways that they could get a surprise victory.

As mentioned before, Liverpool are currently unbeaten and sit in 2nd place. They have an incredible defensive record this season only conceding 5 from 13 matches meaning they are only conceding 0.38 goals a match. They currently have the joint best defence in the league along with Manchester City. Liverpool’s last match was a 3-0 win over Watford. They battered Watford in terms of Possession and had 63% of the ball. This shows that Liverpool are slowly becoming a more defensive and possession based side. Although Liverpool deserved the win, expected goals predicted a scoreline of 1.45 to 0.65 showing that maybe Liverpool got a bit lucky in the match. Something to definitely look at is Liverpool’s incredible home form. At home they have kept 10 clean sheets in the last 11 matches. As well as this, they are undefeated in their last 27 Premier League home matches. This is an incredible run which really showcases their consistency at their own ground.

The crucial man for this match will be Virgil Van Dijk. Much of the incredible defensive form mentioned above, comes from the fantastic leadership and quality that Van Dijk has. He has made 30 tackles and interceptions this season as well as making 74 passes a match. Not everything can be measured in numbers though and one of Van Dijk’s main qualities is his fantastic leadership. This is crucial as he has so many young players around him and he often offers a guiding hand to the less experienced players. Mo Salah is another player we have to look at as he has now scored 4 in his last 5 Premier League games. This brings his total tally up to 7 goals and 3 assists. This is the most goals and the most assists out of any Liverpool player. Lately, Everton have been a very solid defensive side, only conceding 3 in their last 7, and Salah will be much needed to break through this compact defensive line.

Everton are finally starting to look like a very competitive side and they have really settled into Marco Silva’s style of play. One thing that Everton should be worried about is that they don’t have a brilliant away record. In the Premier League this season, they have lost 2, drawn 3 and won only 1 when on the road. To add on to this struggle, Liverpool have been superb at home winning 5 and drawing 1 when at home, conceding only 1 goal during that period. Everton will definitely have to improve their away form if they hope to get a result in this game. A positive for Everton is the fact that they have been quite solid in recent fixtures against Liverpool. Even though they haven’t been great in recent seasons, the passion involved in this rivalry seems to have allowed Everton to get a couple of good results lately. Last season they managed 2 draws against a Liverpool side who finished 4 places, and 26 points, ahead of them.

The most important player for Everton in this match will undoubtedly be Gylfi Sigurdsson. The Icelandic attacking midfielder has already managed 6 goals and 2 assists this season which is a better tally than what he managed in the whole of last season. He has also created a total of 6 big chances and has made 34 tackles and interceptions. These are very impressive numbers and they highlight his importance to the team. With Liverpool’s strong defensive record at home his creativity and threat in front of goal will be crucial. Yet again, Michael Keane has to be mentioned as he has been the outstanding figure in Everton’s defence this season. He has made 28 tackles and interceptions this season as well as a very good 50 passes a match. Everton have kept a total of 4 clean sheets this season and they haven’t got a single one when Keane was absent. Overall, he is an incredibly crucial defender and has been the key component in Everton’s recent defensive resurgence.

Liverpool have a few lingering injury problems with Lallana, Oxlade Chamberlain, Solanke and Origi all doubts for the match. None of these players are crucial to the side but Lallana has played a little bit throughout the season. The big miss for Liverpool is suspended Jordan Henderson who picked up a red card late on in their last match. Although he is an important player for the Reds, you would expect that players such as Keita or Fabinho could step into his role. Also, the Reds might choose to play a 4-2-3-1 formation again, in which case Wijnaldum and Milner can definitely play as the 2. Everton are very lucky at the moment and are currently suffering from 0 injuries to their first team. This will be crucial for them as they’ll definitely need their full squad and all of their options available when facing such a talented side.

With both sides having such good defensive records and with the main focus being to shut out the opposition, you might expect a low scoring game. The big thing to note in this game is that Liverpool is at home and the records mentioned earlier show that this could make it a big struggle for Everton. Although this game is important for both teams you have to believe that Liverpool need a win more desperately as every point lost for them is another point that they have to hope Man City lose. Quite frankly, Man City rarely drop points, so Liverpool need every point to stay in the title race. With Liverpool in such good form and with such a good home record I think a 1-0 Liverpool win is in store for us.