EPL Preview – Liverpool v Everton
February 4, 2010 by gmorganLiverpool v Everton
Anfield
Saturday 6th February 2010
The 211th Merseyside derby sees both sides in decent league form, with Liverpool beaten only once in their last seven games and Everton undefeated since the two sides met at Goodison Park back in November. Under-fire Reds boss Rafael Benitez spent most of last week fending off suggestions that he was poised to Juventus, but will now switch his attentions to ensuring that his side maintain a home derby dominance which has seen the Toffees fail to win at Anfield since 1999. Unfortunately for Benitez, he again looks likely to be without talismanic striker Fernando Torres who is still recovering from knee surgery, although Yossi Benayoun may return to the squad after overcoming his rib injury.
Everton’s recent resurgence has seen them climb from the relegation zone to ninth in the table and the feel-good factor in the blue half of Merseyside has been further boosted by some long-overdue good news on the injury front. Key midfielder Mikel Arteta and powerful striker Victor Anichebe have both returned to competitive action in the last couple of weeks, while Phil Jagielka is back in full training and could come into first-team contention before the end of the month.
Tim Cahill has stirred things up ahead of the derby clash by claiming that Liverpool are feeling threatened by their city rivals’ surge towards a European spot and the Socceroo will again have a vital role to play after bagging his side’s winner against Wigan last week with a trademark header.
The visitors are likely to employ a physical approach in a bid to unsettle a Liverpool side widely perceived as somewhat lightweight and there could be fireworks aplenty, especially early on. On recent evidence, there isn’t too much to choose between the two sides, so a low-scoring draw looks like a decent bet here.
Prediction: Liverpool 1-1 Everton
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