By Aaron Conlon
Home side Everton come into this fixture on the back of a 2-0 win against relegation rivals Nottingham Forrest following a poor run of form, picking up only four points out of a possible 18 prior to their match on the weekend.
Everton will be looking to keep a second clean sheet in two games after an embarrassing defensive performance against Chelsea took six away from their goal difference. Klopp’s men come into the fixture after a reassuring 3-1 win against Fulham in the capital, much needed after only picking up one win in the Red’s last four, before the match.
Diogo Jota returned to the scoresheet following his long spell on the sidelines, something that would’ve put a smile on a lot of Liverpool fans’ faces following an unfamiliar poor run of form in front of goal by the Reds.
However, with news recently breaking that Jota will once again be sidelined for around 2 weeks, other Liverpool forwards must step up in his absence. With both sides coming into the derby after nerve-settling wins it won’t be an easy game by no stretch of the imagination for either side.
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Coming into the Merseyside derby Liverpool have won the last four out of five against Everton with the only points dropped coming through a 0-0 draw at Goodison Park.
Crossing the park has proved a tricky place to go for the Reds as of late with three of the last four visits there producing a draw, in a time when Jurgen Klopp’s men can’t afford to drop any more points whilst chasing the title, Liverpool must be on top form.
Klopp’s charges however, will expect to be the dominant force in the match based on recent meetings and will hope for a culmination of good chances from dominating possession, with Klopp’s side averaging just over 66% possession in the last 3 outings between the two, will suffocate the Blues.
Toffees’ goal scorer against Forest, Dwight McNeil, speaking to the Everton website, told of how he thinks the result could impact the game at Goodison: “[It gives us] belief and that confidence within the group going into the massive derby on Wednesday. That’s our main focus now”
Following on from Ryan Gravenberch’s first Premier League goal for the club and his performance against Fulham, the Dutch midfielder spoke to the club’s official website “For us we just go game by game,”. “We won today and now Everton is waiting for us on Wednesday and we have to be prepared for them as well and then we go moving forward.”
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As of late, Liverpool’s injury list has started to grow, with expected absentees Ben Doak, Joel Matip, Thiago Alcantara, Connor Bradley and Diogo Jota being definitely set to miss the trip after Tuesday’s news conference broke the news that Jota would once again be unfit to play for around a fortnight after picking up a knock on the weekend at Craven Cottage.
Scepticism over Stefan Bajcetic’s availability has risen with him not featuring on the bench against Fulham but playing a full half of football against Sunderland U21s the day after, however, the fixture may prove too soon for him to appear on the bench.
Everton will be without captain Seamus Coleman as well as Nathan Patterson, Dele Ali, Lewis Dobbin and Beto, following his sickening clash with Gibbs White at the weekend.
The fitness of Calvert Lewin will need to be assessed after injury forced him off in the second half against Forest.
Predicted Liverpool XI:
Alisson; Trent Alexander Arnold, Ibrahima Konate, Virgil Van Dijk, Andy Robertson; Wataru Endo, Alexis Mac Allister, Dominik Szoboszlai; Mo Salah, Cody Gakpo, Luis Diaz.
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Mo Salah returning to the forward line from the start should also be no surprise, however, due to Gakpo’s impressive performances from the left flank as of late, it begs the question as to whether or not he will start up front or on the wing, possibly hinting at Darwin Nunez returning up front over Salah or Diaz to allow Gakpo’s place out wide. The re-emergence of World Cup winner Alexis Mac Allister into the midfield over Harvey Elliot is expected after he was rested from the starting lineup against Fulham.
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