Pickford will be Everton’s last line of defence as they bid to stop Liverpool winning. — Reuters
IF ever there was a bumper weekend featuring the Big Six, then this is it – or at least as close to it as we’ll get, barring Tottenham’s omission from the list.
Even then, in Spurs’ place are Everton, and they come up against champions Liverpool in the Merseyside derby, one of English football’s great rivalries.
In our other featured matches, beleaguered Manchester United are at home to Chelsea, while Arsenal, runners-up in the past three seasons, welcome Manchester City to the Emirates.
The TV programmers could hardly have asked for a more tantalising fixture list thrown into one weekend than this, with surprise package Bournemouth entertaining Champions League outfit Newcastle United in our fourth and final clash.
Many fans know why Everton’s visit to Anfield Stadium – and vice-versa – is almost always scheduled as an early kick-off on Saturdays.
There’s too much needle in this derby, and if it were played later in the day, giving some of the diehards more time to enjoy a greater intake of the golden beverage, tempers would fray a lot quicker and ructions erupt a lot louder.
Even so, we can still expect another fiery chapter in this fabled football fixture, when Liverpool seek to extend their 100% start to the league season to five games.
For David Moyes’ visitors, it will be a case of bidding to retain their sixth place on the log – or better, if a result or two goes their way elsewhere around the country.
Anfield’s faithful will have been heartened by the news that Alexander Isak made his debut for the Reds in the Champions League clash with Atletico Madrid in midweek.
Now they’ll be keen to see him start his first Premier League match for the home side, following his £125mil signing from Newcastle – and maybe top it off with a goal or two.
Isak, short on match fitness due to a hampered pre-season training schedule, did show flashes of the craft that made him the most expensive player in British football.
Despite this, and even if he does start as expected, he is unlikely to play all 90 minutes.
Mo Salah, the Premier League’s top player last season, put in his best shift so far this campaign when Atletico visited.
He marked the occasion with a goal and might have had two, only for his free kick to skim off Andy Robertson for Liverpool’s first in the 3-2 win.
That victory again saw the Reds leave it late, after squandering a two-goal lead, just as they did against Bournemouth and Newcastle in the Premiership.
Of course, Arne Slot won’t mind winning games late, but he’ll be hopeful they wrap up the match well before the end.
In the last derby at Goodison Park, Everton hit back at the death to secure a 2–2 draw with Liverpool.
That won’t be lost on the Anfield side, but they’ll know Everton will again prove formidable opponents – they always do in this clash.
And since his return to the Toffees last season, Moyes has overseen a turnaround in the fortunes of the team in blue.
But he does have a poor record against the old enemy. In his 30 Merseyside derbies, Moyes has won only five.
In all, Moyes has faced Liverpool 44 times in his managerial career with Everton, Man United, Sunderland and West Ham – and won just six. Of those, he lost 27.
Everton have gotten off to a decent start in this campaign – winning two, losing one and drawing the other – hence their sixth position in the standings.
Their standout players have been Jordan Pickford in goal and James Tarkowski, a sturdy pillar in defence and the scorer of that fantastic goal the last time these two sides met.
Equally impressive has been midfielder Idrissa Gana Gueye, who has shown his class with telling contributions, and Jack Grealish, who has added a welcome touch of creativity after his loan move from Man City in the off-season.
Everton, more so with the form they’re in, will believe they belong in the top six of the world’s most celebrated football league.
And in the early kick-off today, they’ll want to prove that to Liverpool and do so by all means.
