Following a 2-2 draw earlier in the campaign, the second Merseyside derby of the season takes place on Saturday, with Liverpool hosting Everton at Anfield.
Sixth-place Liverpool currently sit just three points ahead of seventh-place Everton, while the Toffees also have a game in hand over their rivals.
𝙉𝙚𝙭𝙩 𝙪𝙥: The Merseyside Derby 🤩#LIVEVE | #LFC pic.twitter.com/J6Lg2zqqSe— Liverpool FC (@LFC) February 18, 2021
𝙉𝙚𝙭𝙩 𝙪𝙥: The Merseyside Derby 🤩#LIVEVE | #LFC pic.twitter.com/J6Lg2zqqSe
Liverpool ended a run of disappointing results by securing a morale-boosting victory over RB Leipzig in the Champions League on Tuesday.
The Reds enjoyed 53% possession and racked up ten shots last time out, with second-half goals from Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane giving Jurgen Klopp’s men a first-leg advantage.
However, Liverpool have not had it all their own way in the Premier League recently, losing each of their previous three matches.
The Reds have lost to Brighton, Man City and Leicester in February, picking up just two wins in their last ten domestic matches.
Form often goes out the window when the Merseyside derby rolls around, so Klopp and co. will be hoping that they can return to winning ways on Saturday.
After enjoying a purple patch earlier in the campaign, Everton’s form has also taken a turn for the worse of late.
The Toffees enjoyed a run of one defeat in eight games across December and January, but they have since managed to win just one of their last six.
Since beating Leeds away from home, Everton have drawn with Man Utd, along with suffering defeats to Fulham and Man City.
However, it is worth pointing out that Everton are unbeaten in their previous seven away games in all competitions.
Head-to-head: As we already know, Everton held Liverpool to a 2-2 draw back in October, meaning the teams have recorded back-to-back draws.
Everton’s last victory over Liverpool came all the way back in 2011, with Liverpool going unbeaten in their last 21 meetings with their rivals.
Team news: Liverpool are missing Virgil van Dijk, Joe Gomez, Diogo Jota, Naby Keita, Joel Matip, James Milner and Fabinho through injury.
Meanwhile, Everton will be without Yerry Mina and Jean-Philippe Gbmamin on Saturday, although Dominic Calvert-Lewin is expected to return to the team.
It feels like the gulf between Liverpool and Everton is smaller now than it has been in recent years. However, the Reds’ recent record in this fixture is remarkable.
Forebet predicts that Liverpool will beat Everton in a four-goal thriller on Saturday, with the home team expected to score over 2.5 goals.