17:30 tomorrow at Anfield, Liverpool host Merseyside rivals Everton in what will be more than any ordinary fixture between these old foes.
It’s been more than 10 years since the blue side of Merseyside defeated The Reds, but this game will be one of their best chances to end that horrific run.
For a start, the first meeting between the two sides in this Premier League season impacted Liverpool in a way they possibly couldn’t of imagined. Jurgen Klopp’s side lost Virgil van Dijk to injury, following his collision with Toffee’s keeper Jordan Pickford, which caused their Dutch destroyer to miss the rest of the season.
That huge blow has impacted Liverpool heavily, so certainly the current Premier League champions will want to avenge their inured teammate.
As a result of their injury crisis and poor form, The Reds are sixth in the Premier League table – three points ahead of Everton, but they’ve played an additional game.
An away win would see Carlo Ancelotti’s side level on points, but behind on goal difference with Liverpool having 13 compared to his sides two. But with the home side currently sitting on a three game losing streak in the Premier League, Everton have a big opportunity to pounce on their flailing rivals and finish above them in the Premier League for the first time since 2012/13.
With Liverpool boss Klopp conceding their chances of retaining the title after dropping behind Manchester City by 16 points, despite being top of the table two months ago, shows how great his sides drop off has been.
Everton haven’t been in the best of form either, with The Blues suffering two losses on the bounce to Fulham and Manchester City, and have only won four points from their last five matches, but Ancelotti will be well aware of the opportunity his side face on Saturday.
For all we know this could be the turning point where the side across Stanley Park assert their dominance and take back their long awaited time above their biggest rivals.
The Italian tactician knows all too well of the feats Liverpool are capable of achieving after losing on penalties in the 2005 Champions League final, where his side AC Milan lost a 3-0 lead within six minutes.
Embed from Getty ImagesAnfield won’t be the fortress it usually is either as no fans in the ground has clearly boosted the confidence of those who turn up to the stadium, with Burnley ending their 68 match unbeaten record at home.
Liverpool will be glad they have a win going into the game, after comfortably beating Champions League opponents RB Leipzig 2-0 in Hungary. It seemed like The Reds of old, but will they gain consistency with a victory over Everton tomorrow evening?
Liverpool have already had one record broken this season, they won’t want to let another slip-but Everton are capable of writing their own history on Saturday as well.