The first Merseyside Derby of the Premier League season takes place at Goodison Park on Saturday, with Everton hosting arch-rivals Liverpool in the early kick-off.
Liverpool have taken eight points from a possible 15 this term, meaning they find themselves seven points shy of first-place Arsenal and five points behind Manchester City.
The Merseyside derby awaits ✊#EVELIV pic.twitter.com/MWdYOJAOZ1— Liverpool FC (@LFC) September 2, 2022
The Merseyside derby awaits ✊#EVELIV pic.twitter.com/MWdYOJAOZ1
As for Everton, they have only managed to take three points from their opening five games. Consequently, they sit five points behind Liverpool.
The Toffees have yet to claim a Premier League win this season, kicking off the campaign with back-to-back defeats before recording three straight draws.
After losing to Chelsea and Aston Villa, Frank Lampard’s side notched 1-1 draws against Nottingham Forest. Brentford and Leeds United.
When you look at the bigger picture, Everton have only managed to win one of their previous nine Premier League outings.
Given that each of Everton’s past four games across all competitions have produced under 2.5 goals, we should see a low-scoring encounter on Saturday.
Following something of a shaky start to the season, Liverpool head into Saturday’s showdown on the back of two straight wins.
After thrashing Bournemouth 9-0 on Matchday 4, the Reds came from behind to beat Newcastle United last time out.
It is worth noting that Jurgen Klopp’s men racked up 23 shots against Newcastle. Meanwhile, they enjoyed 72% of the ball.
Only Man City (19) have scored more Premier League goals than Liverpool (15) this season, with Roberto Firmino (3) and Luis Diaz (3) leading Mohamed Salah (2).
Head-to-head: Believe it or not, Everton have only managed to win one of their past 23 Premier League meetings with Liverpool.
Not only have Liverpool avoided defeat in each of their last 11 away games against Everton in the league, but they have also avoided defeat in 19 of the previous 22.
Team news: Everton’s injury list features Andros Townsend, Ben Godfrey, Yerry Mina, Dominic Calvert-Lewin, Abdoulaye Doucoure and Mason Holgate.
Liverpool have an extensive injury list, too, with Thiago Alcantara, Diogo Jota and Jordan Henderson expected to miss Saturday’s clash. However, Darwin Nunez returns from suspension.
At the end of the day, it is difficult to ignore Everton’s woeful Merseyside Derby record in recent years. For that reason, Liverpool shouldn’t struggle to claim all three points on Saturday.
Forebet predicts that Liverpool will secure a low-scoring victory at Goodison Park, keeping a clean sheet in the process.