To say that this is not the greatest Liverpool side that Everton have ever faced would seem like an understatement.
The Reds got off to a fast start, but have fallen out of the title race in the Premier League, along with early exits from the cup matches and the Champions League. They've scored 52 goals in 32 matches, a tally that puts them in the same fifth-place slot they occupy for goals scored as the current table.
Now they've lost leading scorer Hugo Ekitike to a torn Achilles' tendon, meaning he likely won't see the pitch again until 2027, not to mention the pending departure of Mohamed Salah, the disastrous arrival of Alexander Isak over the summer, and just a general air of disappointment from their supporters.
In other words: music to the ears of Evertonians everywhere.
And yet, despite all of that, they remain in the running for yet another Champions League berth, even though their form has been a bit of a mess over the last month, and they've been prone to awful losses throughout the season (an away loss to bottom-dwelling Wolves stands out).
This doesn't mean Everton should take them lightly, even with so much to play for on both sides.
Manager David Moyes has received plenty of negative respones to his pragmatic approach, especially during a stretch of home matches where the Blues couldn't seem to get a foothold in any matches for weeks on end.
But with Liverpool making the trip and so much on the line, Moyes' defense-first tactics feels like the way to go.
Even with the injuries and poor performers, the Reds are still a team capable of scoring goals as they please at times, and the pomp and circumstance of the first-ever Merseyside derby at Hill Dickinson Stadium might be enough to call that out of them.
Salah isn't the player he used to be, for example, but it seems he always finds a way to punish Everton. The moment must not escalate a bigger response from Moyes, however, and he must set up his team to defend and then spring the counter, Everton's bread and butter as the season has progressed.
There is no shame in practicality, something Moyes knows too well. He'll want to set up his team well, and while that may not be the most exciting watch all the time, if Everton truly want to make a run at Europe, it's needs must to suffocate Liverpool in Sunday's match.
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