Date: Saturday, November 23 Venue: Goodison Park Kick-Off: 12:45 Everton and Liverpool clash in the first Merseyside derby of the season at Goodison Park on Saturday.
Team News
Everton manager Roberto Martinez has a fully-fit squad to select from as his side prepare to entertain Liverpool in the Premier League, after reporting no fresh injury concerns. Defenders Antolin Alcaraz and Tony Hibbert are back in contention after returning from long spells on the sidelines, but are unlikely to feature. Liverpool will be without fullback Jose Enrique, who has been ruled out with a knee injury which may require surgery, while manager Brendan Rodgers has concerns over Daniel Sturridge. The England striker has been nursing a dead leg for a number of weeks and his fitness will be assessed ahead of kick-off. (BBC)
Key Stats
Everton have only won one of their last 13 Merseyside derbies against Liverpool; their only victory in that time being the 2-0 win at Goodison Park in 2010. Liverpool have won all seven league matches this season of which they opened the scoring. The Toffees are unbeaten in their 14 Premier League matches at Goodison Park in 2013. The Reds have scored an unrivalled 16 league goals in the first half of matches this season.
Everton vs Liverpool always promises to be a fiery affair, and this clash should be no different. This fixture has produced the most red cards in Premier League history (20), and with the Toffee's picking up eight reds in the last 12 Goodison derbies, it's easy to see why they have such a dismal record against their opponents. The Blue half of Merseyside have only enjoyed one win over Liverpool in the last 13 meetings, that being the 2-0 victory at Goodison back in 2010. That was back when new owner John W Henry first took over, but since then, his Reds have got a much better grip on things, currently sitting second in the Premier League table. Indicative of their reversal in fortunes is the fact Liverpool are 11 points and 11 places better off than at this stage last season, which doesn't bode well for an Everton side looking for an all-to-rare victory. Nor does the fact they haven't won - or even scored - in their last two Premier League outings, with two blanks being fired against Crystal Palace and Tottenham. I'm going for a familiar away win here. 1-2
Joseph is an accredited football journalist and has interviewed nearly all of the current 20 Barclay's Premier League managers. He is also a correspondent for Bleacher Report and has written for Caught Offside and Give Me Football.
