There are not many games bigger than this in the whole footballing calendar & to fans of both sides there are definitely no games bigger than Everton v Liverpool & certainly this renewal is no different. It goes without saying how massively important this game is to everybody connected to both Everton & Liverpool but this game is especially important given how badly both teams are struggling at present in the Premier League. Everton & Liverpool have set incredibly high standards for themselves in recent seasons & quite simply they have both fallen way behind that level this season & both have endured a greatly frustrating & inconsistent start so far. 14th position is where Everton stand coming into this match & more importantly they have not won any match since the 1st of October & have only won one match in the Premier League since the end of September. Everton`s season sunk to new lows on wednesday night as they produced a humiliating performance to be trailing struggling Hull City 3-0 at half time & although they displayed some courage to get 2 goals back, that defeat was a bitter blow & certainly proof of the problems Everton face at present. Admittedly Everton have suffered with terrible injury problems which has had a massive impact on what was already a thin squad but nevertheless, their form has been so poor & inconsistent that injuries are not totally responsible & clearly other problems lie within the squad. The biggest problem is that Everton appear to have lost their key strengths of being well organised & very hard to break down and instead they have become defensively fragile & disorganised with a clear lack of confidence within the team. The real positive for Everton is that they know Liverpool come into this match with their own problems with injuries & loss of form and also after the deflating failure to qualify for the knockout stages in the Champions League so that should definitely level the playing field in this match. The fact this is a home match should give Everton confidence & the motivation to really give their fans a performance of quality & spirit that should then give them a good chance of getting a positive result in this match.
Liverpool
Liverpool & Rafa Benitez come into this match having to start rebuilding their season after being dumped out of the Champions League & already ruled out of the title race by their own frustratingly inconsistent form & of course this is a huge game for everybody connected to Liverpool. 5 defeats from their first 13 Premier League games illustrates how poor Liverpool have been this season & more worryingly for this match 4 of those defeats have come in away matches & that has to be a big concern here against their big rivals. Liverpool have endured a nightmare scenario with injuries but like Everton, that is not the sole reason behind their failure so far & there are many more problems within the club that have contributed to their failings. The biggest failing is that the Liverpool squad has been found wanting in terms of depth & quality with the back-up players for all major areas of the team proving not good enough. Self belief & team confidence within the Liverpool squad has clearly been damaged & they just look a very fragile team & even in victory against Debrecen, Liverpool looked limited & lacking in all areas of the pitch.
Betting verdict
The local & historical rivalry between Everton & Liverpool means that without doubt this will be the most intense, physically competitive game of the weekend in the Premier League & both Everton & Liverpool will be looking for a win but also desperate not to lose & that fear of failing could be the deciding factor & a hence a scoring draw seems a sensible call with both teams settling for a share of the points.
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Prediction:
Tip: X
Odd: 3.45
Bookie: Bet365
Stake: 6 /10
Tipster: Kather
