A special Merseyside derby is coming up this Saturday as it could be the last for Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard. The skipper made his 700th appearance for the Reds earlier this week in the FA Cup against Bolton, becoming the third ever Liverpool player to reach that achievement after Ian Callaghan and Jamie Carragher. Gerrard is not a favourite with the Toffees though as he scored 10 goals in 32 games against Everton, becoming the highest Merseyside derby goal scorer in the Premier League era.
Daniel Sturridge is back after a lengthy spell on the sidelines but he might not be given a starting berth yet as his match fitness is not yet fully restored. Liverpool are on a seven-match unbeaten run and they are seventh in the Premier League table. Everton are 12 points behind the Reds, it's the biggest gap between the two rivals at this stage of the campaign since the 2008-2009 season.
Everton manager Roberto Martinez has not managed to win a Merseyside derby yet but he has got back to winning ways last weekend with a 1-0 win at Crystal Palace. Before that match the Toffees had been on an eight-match winless run. Martinez has brought in Aaron Lennon on loan from Tottenham on transfer deadline day and will also be able to count on James McCarthy as he has recovered from injury. Goalkeeper Tim Howard, Leon Osman and Steven Pienaar are still out injured, while Christian Atsu is at the Africa Cup of Nations.
Probable line-ups:
Everton: Robles - Coleman, Stones, Jagielka, Baines - Besic, Barry - Mirallas, Barkley, Naismith - Lukaku
Liverpool: Mignolet - Can, Skrtel, Sakho - Johnson, Henderson, Lucas, Moreno - Gerrard, Coutinho, Sterling
My prediction: Liverpool to win 2-1.
Here are the odds for the match at Bet365:
Everton win - 12/5 Draw - 12/5 Liverpool win - 13/10
Johnajax 9 years ago
good guess for h34dhunt3r :) I was expecting a lot of goals and I was wrong. This was one boring game. I love Everton, their players, how they play and their style and I was hoping that they can win here but Liverpool is also great team and maybe this is the best results for both teams.
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h34dhunt3r 9 years ago
I'm guessing 0-0, played that aslong as some other games. Now it's halftime, so I'm halfway there. Anyway, L'pool can't take this one, Everton is way to strong on homefield.
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seculla 9 years ago
This Merseyside derby will be maybe the best derby so far and the most difficult to predict. Everton have maybe the worst season lately but they have good players in their team. On the other side Liverpool also have not so good season, and after last season when they held on first place at the table, no one expected that...
This Merseyside derby will be maybe the best derby so far and the most difficult to predict. Everton have maybe the worst season lately but they have good players in their team. On the other side Liverpool also have not so good season, and after last season when they held on first place at the table, no one expected that they will play so bad. Anyway, this will be very interesting match and very good to watch, I think that we will see goals from both sides.
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sharpe 9 years ago
This is always a great game and I hope that one will be not an exception. Both teams not in the best shape at the moment but Liverpool are better in the last couple of games especially after Daniel Sturridge comeback. Everton finally wins in the last game after long bad run before that.
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zebrazebr 9 years ago
Steven Gerrard is a legend and indispensable for Liverpool. I expect an easy win for Liverpool. They will win by 2 or 3 goals in my opinion. Their attackers are in good form, 2 of them (Sturridge, Coutinho, Sterling) will score at least one goal to Everton. Ftom Everton maybe Lukaku will score a goal. Pool needs points...
Steven Gerrard is a legend and indispensable for Liverpool. I expect an easy win for Liverpool. They will win by 2 or 3 goals in my opinion. Their attackers are in good form, 2 of them (Sturridge, Coutinho, Sterling) will score at least one goal to Everton. Ftom Everton maybe Lukaku will score a goal. Pool needs points and points to go up on the league table.
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