The titans of Merseyside meet again in each side’s first match back from the three-month break. With Liverpool out looking to put one hand on the Premier League trophy, a win against their local rivals will do the Reds a world of good.
When and where?
The match will be held at Goodison Park, kicking off at 7pm on Sunday 21 June.
Previous meetings
This will be the third Merseyside derby of the season, but the first at Goodison. In December, Everton fell to an embarrassing 5-2 defeat, with goals from Shaqiri, Mane, Wijnaldum and a Divock double sank the Toffees.
Returning to Anfield in January for the FA Cup, a youthful Liverpool side overcame Everton, with Curtis Jones scoring the only goal of the game.
Team news
Everton are looking thin on the midfield front, with Gbamin, Delph and Schneiderlin all ruled out. Winger Theo Walcott and centre back Yerry Mina are also likely to miss out, but Andre Gomes is available.
Liverpool have a full squad available to Klopp, with the only possible fitness concerns being Andy Robertson and Mohamed Salah with Alisson back from a hip injury.
Last five matches
Everton:
(L) 4-0 vs Chelsea
(D) 1-1 vs Manchester United
(L) 3-2 vs Arsenal
(W) 3-1 vs Crystal Palace
(W) 2-3 vs Watford
Everton’s form was dropping off before the break, and a three-month break before the derby may rejuvenate the team, especially if they would like to delay the Champions-elect.
Liverpool:
(L) 2-3 vs Atletico Madrid
(W) 2-1 vs Bournemouth
(L) 0-2 vs Chelsea
(L) 3-0 vs Watford
(W) 3-2 West Ham
With the last five of Liverpool’s matches containing over half of their losses this season, some were even going as far to question whether or not they’d let the league slip. However, against their local rivals and the possibility to be within one win of the Premier League trophy, a win will surely be on their minds
I think that Liverpool are the clear and obvious favourites for this match. An empty Goodison won’t be giving Everton any support which would have been a key factor in getting a positive result.
However, I do also believe that Everton will want to play cautiously as to not be embarrassed and with this being both teams’ first game back, neither of the sides will be up to full sharpness, and so will lack a cutting edge.
Match Preview written by Tom Cresswell.