Liverpool v Everton
Everton v Liverpool – Saturday 1st October – Goodison Park (14:45)
The Merseyside Derby is a fixture that all football fanatics take huge interest in. The two bitter rivals have been going head to head since the inaugural of the premier league. This encounter is never short of heart, determination and pride. The players all know that a victory in this match will go a long way in boosting confidence.
Everton have not made the best of starts to the season as they find themselves in 10th position on the table. They lost one of their prize assets in Mikel Arteta, who opted to join Arsenal on deadline day of the transfer window. The fans were not happy at all about losing the Spaniard as he was a key figure for them and felt the club was going backwards by selling their top players. This ultimately affected the spirit of the team and this showed in their opening games of the season. David Moyes wasted little time in bringing in new faces, he managed to snap up Dutch wing back Royston Drenthe on a loan deal from Real Madrid. The Dutchmen will bring creativity and experience to a squad that is in need of a boost. Everton have somewhat got their season back on track as they have booked a spot in the next round of the carling cup. They were defeated by Power house Manchester City this weekend after a hard fought effort. The disturbing news in that match up was the injury to key striker Tim Cahill as he came out second best in a challenge with Vincent Kompany and looks likely to be out for a couple of weeks.
Liverpool has had an up and down season thus far, playing some great football at times but then again producing some woeful performances. There is no doubt Kenny Dalglish has transformed the team from their dismal showing of last term, but the question is, has Liverpool strengthened in the right places. Liverpool were very busy in the transfer market bringing 5 new faces in Stewart Downing, Charlie Adam, Jordan Henderson, Sebastian Coates and Craig Bellamy who returns to Liverpool for his second spell with the club. On a more positive note, club captain Steven Gerrard has fought his way back from injury as he came off the bench this weekend to drive his team to 2-1 victory over Wolves. The quicker Gerrard can get match fit the better it will be for Liverpool as he provides that extra quality and determination that can propel them to a real title pursuit. Liverpool currently sits in 5th spot with 10 points and will be looking to increase the pressure on their rivals.
These two know that a victory in this encounter will go along way as pride is at stake. The passion in these encounters is electrifying with both teams going all out for the win. The draw is favored in this tie.
