Everton welcome Liverpool to Goodison Park in the first Merseyside derby of 2022-23 season.
Victory could see Everton climb as high as 11th whilst Liverpool can temporarily go third with a win.
Team News
Neal Maupay could make his debut for Everton after Premier League rules concerning player registration and Bank Holidays prevented his participation in their midweek 1-1 draw at Leeds.
New signings, Idrissa Gueye and James Garner could be in contention for selection, although this would be Gueye’s second debut for the club.
Ben Godfrey (fibula), Yerry Mina (ankle), Abdoulaye Doucoure (hamstring), Mason Holgate, Andros Townsend and Dominic Calvert-Lewin (all knee) remain absent.
Liverpool could welcome Darwin Nunez back into contention after he missed their last three matches through suspension.
Diogo Jota (hamstring) could also feature but Jordan Henderson is a major doubt after injuring his hamstring in their midweek win at home to Newcastle.
Caoimhin Kelleher (groin), Ibrahima Konate (knee), Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain (hamstring), Thiago Alcantara (thigh), Naby Keita and Calvin Ramsay (both unspecified) remain ruled out.
New loan signing, Arthur Melo could be in contention for his debut.
Stat Attack
- Everton are unbeaten in three of their last five meetings against Liverpool (W1, D2, L2).
- Liverpool are unbeaten in their last 11 visits to Goodison Park (W3, D8).
- Three of last five Merseyside derbies played at Goodison Park have finished goalless.
- Everton have converted just seven of 19 shots onto target in their last two Merseyside derbies at home to Liverpool.
- Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah has scored three goals in his last two away appearances against Everton.
Prediction
This has been a slow start for Everton with no league wins but they can take heart from having drawn their last three league matches, especially with excellent fluid attacking movement in their midweek draw at Leeds but defending remains their weak point coming into this derby.
Liverpool meanwhile have shown two different sides to their play in the last week because they were aggressively ruthless against Bournemouth last weekend, yet struggled in their attacking intensity against Newcastle in midweek but scraped a lucky last-gasp win.
I am therefore unsure as to what to expect from Liverpool especially with a tricky Champions League visit to Napoli on Tuesday evening, which is something Everton should look to take advantage of if Jurgen Klopp rings the changes amongst his Reds.
My gut instinct though is that we could see a score draw because Everton will be desperate to score first given their weak home form against Liverpool, whereas the Reds have a mixture of injury issues and congested scheduling to manage at present.
Prediction: Everton 1-1 Liverpool
Result: Everton 0-0 Liverpool
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