*All prices are bang up to date with our snazzy widgets, while odds in copy are accurate at time of publishing but subject to change
The 21st century has not been kind to Everton or their fans when it comes to Merseyside derbies. The Blues’ only victory at Anfield since the dawn of this millennium occurred last season, when there was nobody there to see it. It was the ‘tree falling in the forest’ of derby glory.
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The chances of a repeat away win on Sunday are slim to none. This fixture sees the team with the best home record in the 2021/22 Premier League hosting the side with the worst on the road. Liverpool are unbeaten in the league at Anfield this season and haven’t lost in front of their fans in the competition for five years.
Is there any hope in this match for an Everton side who have taken just two points from their last 13 league games away from home? Who might be in the bottom three by the time this match kicks off?
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Sunday 4.30pm: Liverpool v Everton
TV: Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Premier League
Alternative handicap: Liverpool (-1)
No. Thanks for reading, I’ll see you next week. Okay, let’s not be hasty. There must be some small slivers of hope for Frank Lampard’s side in this match?
If there are – and I’m not convinced – chief among them will be the fact Liverpool will have one eye on the first leg of their Champions League semi-final with Villarreal. That match takes place on Wednesday night, leaving little time for rest and recovery between this match and that one.
Jurgen Klopp has never been shy of resting players for matches with the Blues either. He has often treated Everton with the disdain their dreadful derby record deserves, using the fixture to give the likes of Divock Origi and Xherdan Shaqiri rare starts in years gone by. But the days of the Reds having a good starting XI but a weak squad are firmly in the past. Klopp could rotate the attack for this game and still have a front three which is the envy of just about any team you care to name.
Liverpool rattled four past Manchester United in midweek and they’ve been much better away from home than Everton have been, so the Reds should be able to win this by at least two goals without much fuss. I’ll kick off with Liverpool (-1) in the alternative handicap markets.
Both teams to score? No
Football’s most elusive striker, Own Goal, is Everton’s joint-fourth top scorer on the road this season. Exclude penalties and he’s only got Demarai Gray – with all of two goals – ahead of him. And even if the Blues did have loads of goals in their side, they still might not score at Anfield. Liverpool have played seven league games there in 2022, won the lot and the only goal they have conceded took a massive deflection off big Joel Matip.
The Reds also have the best home defensive record this season and have never had more clean sheets by this stage of a Premier League campaign. This might be a match where Everton are lucky to get nil. Both Teams To Score? No. Easy.
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Over 11.5 corners
Matches at Anfield tend to have a lot of corners, with four of the last six in the league featuring at least 12 of them. The visitors will do what they can to keep the total low, largely by having very few of their own. Everton are bottom of the league for corners on the road, with an average of 3.4 per away game.
But with all the attacking Liverpool are going to do here, there should be plenty. We’ll take Over 11.5 Corners and hope there’s plenty of crosses and shots blocked and sent out of play.
Over 4.5 cards
It’s a well-known fact that the Merseyside derby has seen more red cards than any other fixture in the Premier League. As the score on that front is 15-7 to Everton and they’ve had more men sent off than any other team this season, a flutter on the Blues to receive a red isn’t the worst shout.
Particularly as the PGMOL have selected Stuart Attwell, their second most card-heavy ref to take charge of a traditionally card-heavy fixture. Red cards are too difficult to predict, even in games like these, but as there were seven yellow cards in the reverse fixture in December, there should be Over 4.5 Cards here.
Liverpool v Everton Bet Builder tips
Liverpool (-1)
Both Teams To Score? No
Over 11.5 Corners
Over 4.5 Cards
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*All prices are bang up to date with our snazzy widgets, while odds in copy are accurate at time of publishing but subject to change
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