With seven wins from seven games across all competitions, Everton have made their best start to the season since 1894/95 heading into the first Merseyside derby of the campaign.
After dispatching Tottenham on the opening weekend, the Toffees have blown aside everything before them to race to the top of the Premier League while also booking a date with Manchester United in the EFL Cup quarter-final in December.
Summer arrivals James Rodriguez, Allan and Abdoulaye Doucoure have brought a much-needed mix of Hollywood stardom, industry and quality to the side, while Dominic Calvert-Lewin is in the form of his life having scored nine goals in six games and made his senior England debut — also scoring in that 3-0 win over Wales.
All of this has been presided over by Carlo Ancelotti, arguably the biggest name ever to sit in the home dugout at Goodison Park. It’s a far cry from the days of Sam Allardyce or the latter months of Roberto Martinez’s stint in charge.
So, factoring in the absence of Liverpool ‘keeper Alisson Becker, you might say this is the most optimistic Evertonians have been heading into a clash with their closest rivals in around a decade? Perhaps you’d even deduce that this is Everton’s best chance of beating Liverpool since the Reds had to suffer through the Roy Hodgson era?
Ancelotti himself has admitted the squad are on cloud nine right now, telling Everton’s official website:
"We are confident. It doesn’t matter what happened last week, they (Liverpool) are still a fantastic team with a fantastic manager. It will be a difficult game but we have confidence."
Well, a word of caution, we’ve been here before.
Was it not Everton’s best chance of winning at Anfield for the first time since 1999 back in December, when Jurgen Klopp rested the likes of Roberto Firmino, Mohamed Salah and Jordan Henderson? The Reds ran riot in a 5-2 win that day in a result which proved to be the final nail in the coffin for Marco Silva’s time in charge.
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And was it not, yet again Everton’s best chance of a first derby win overall since October 2010 when the Reds effectively played their youth team for an FA Cup tie in January? Even Ancelotti himself couldn’t avoid an embarrassing 1-0 defeat that day, despite fielding a practically full-strength XI.
Liverpool will welcome Sadio Mane — who has scored three goals against Everton since joining the Reds — and Thiago back to the squad for this Goodison showdown and even without Alisson in net, the likes of Virgil van Dijk and Andy Robertson are defensive monsters — don’t let that 7-2 defeat to Aston Villa fool you.
Speaking of which, that result will have Klopp’s side heading into this tie like a wounded animal. A dangerous, vicious wounded animal with a serious point to prove to its challengers looking to steal the Premier League crown.
Evertonians will rightly puff out their chest and make a whole lot of noise heading into this Merseyside derby. It wouldn’t be a derby if they didn’t and given the incredible run of form they’re enjoying, who would blame them? In fact, we’ll be front and centre making noise with you!
But take caution, we’ve been here before. Liverpool undoubtedly have Everton’s number.
If the Toffees do, indeed, end their 10-year wait for derby success, then maybe the rest of the league will truly stand up and take note of Everton as an emerging power.
But in recent years, this derby above all others has thrown respective form books out of the window, while curiously following its own trend, year after year.
It’s time for that to end if Ancelotti’s revolution is to be taken seriously. This is the real litmus test.