Everton face another hard derby test
Here we go again as Everton make the mile long journey to Anfield to face Liverpool in the FA cup third round Merseyside derby on Sunday.
This game is a daunting prospect given the form the Reds are in at the moment and the 5-2 hammering that Everton fans had to endure a month ago against them lot.
However, searching for positives, the Toffees had some good chances in that game and I think they will have chances on Sunday too. The question is can they take them and do enough to restrict Liverpool’s rampant attack? A big ask.
Liverpool will start this match as strong favourites, while the Blues will probably have to produce their best performance of the season to win the game.
Having said all that, it’s possible the Reds will field a significantly weakened side as their priority is obviously winning the Premier League this season. Although their team in last month’s derby game also contained several notable changes and they still won comfortably.
That’s perhaps the most galling thing about these derby games, the fact that Liverpool no longer treat them as massive matches between two heavyweight clubs and neighbours.
When I was younger, the Merseyside derby was without doubt the biggest game in the area and both sets of fans were desperate for a win. Now though it seems more and more of the red half of the city sees this as simply just another match.
However it is still important to have bragging rights on Merseyside. That’s something the Toffees haven’t had for a long time.
This game is of course Carlo Ancelotti’s first derby and the Italian is keenly aware of the importance of the match for Blues fans. The manager also has a good recent record against Jurgen Klopp, although he had better quality of players with Napoli.
Fortunately for Everton, (or perhaps not in some cases!), several players are back from injury and are available for selection. In particular Morgan Schneiderlin is fit again and Ancelotti is hopeful that both Bernard and Fabian Delph will also be back.
Bernard’s last-minute injury was a real setback against Manchester City on New Years Day. It forced Ancelotti to make a change that took away from Everton’s attacking potential. Hopefully he will be fit in time for Sunday’s game.
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It will be interesting to see what kind of team Ancelotti picks and how he sets them up to play. Usually he seems to favour playing some sort of 4-4-2 or a 3-4-3 system.
Personally given the available players, the team I would pick is: Jordan Pickford, Yerry Mina, Mason Holgate, Djibril Sidibe, Lucas Digne, Theo Walcott, Gylfi Sigurdsson, Fabian Delph, Bernard, Richarlison and Dominic Calvert-Lewin.
No predictions for this one, I don’t have a great deal of optimism abut the game.
I am though going to hope against hope that Everton can somehow pull out a spectacular win and end the twenty year gap since the Blues last Anfield derby win. We will see…