Match Preview - Liverpool vs Everton - Key Battle, Team News, Prediction
Liverpool will welcome Everton to Anfield on Sunday.
Both sides will go into the top-flight fixture with plenty to play for. The Reds are only one-point behind league leaders Manchester City on the Premier League table.
Everton on the other hand are fighting relegation. The Reds are coming off an emphatic 4-0 victory over Manchester United, which took place at Anfield last Tuesday night.
The Toffees secured a 1-1 draw against Leicester City at Goodison Park last Wednesday night.
Key Battle - Liverpool's front line vs Everton's defence
If Everton want to get anything out of the match, they will have to stop Liverpool's potent forward line.
The Reds have scored 83 goals in 32 Premier League fixtures this season. The Toffees have conceded 53 goals in 31 top-flight games this campaign.
With that being the case, Everton are going to have their work cut out trying to stop the likes of Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane, Luis Diaz and Diogo Jota.
Team News
Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp is hopeful that Roberto Firmino will be fit to play against Everton. The Brazil international missed the club's clash against Manchester United due to a foot injury.
Everton manager Frank Lampard has confirmed that Donny van de Beek (groin), Andre Gomes (undisclosed injury) and Dominic Calvert-Lewin (quadricep) will miss the upcoming fixture against Liverpool.
Previous Premier League Meeting
Liverpool battered Everton 4-1 at Goodison Park back in December 2021. Goals from Jordan Henderson and Mohamed Salah gave the Reds a 2-0 lead after 20 minutes of action.
However, Demarai Gray dragged one back for the Toffees just before half-time. But, Everton's joy was short-lived.
Both Salah and Diogo Jota found the back of the net during the second-half, which secured a 4-1 victory for Liverpool.
Klopp was certainly pleased with the result. In fact, the German said he was going to watch the replay when he returned home from the stadium.
He told Match of the Day the following: “Later on I will enjoy watching it (the replay) because I know the result, that helps it. I had moments tonight that I enjoyed a lot.
“I liked what I saw and it was by far the best performance we’ve done at Goodison. We made a big step in our development that we can take these kind of games, even though they are really important for the opponent. We can put emotions to the side.
“What football moments we had in the first-half – incredible! The positions we put on the pitch made it really difficult to get at us. We gave a goal away for no reason – that is how it is. The crowd were angry and we gave them life back.
“After half-time we controlled it again. We showed the boys two or three situations and the way they defended we could have sent Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah away a lot more in one-on-one situations.”
Prediction
Liverpool really should be defeating Everton on Sunday. The reality is, the Reds are a far better side than the Toffees.
As we have already pointed out, Klopp possesses such a potent forward line. We don't know how Everton's defence will be able to cope with Liverpool's forwards.
But, the Reds should still be wary heading into Sunday's game. There is no such thing as an easy match in the Premier League.
If Liverpool are off the pace, there is no reason why Everton couldn't take advantage of that. But, a lot would have to go wrong for Klopp's side to fall short in this particular fixture.
Liverpool 3 Everton 0
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