Liverpool v Everton – Here’s the key battle that could probably decide the Merseyside derby today

Liverpool v Everton – Analysing the expected key battle

Liverpool and Everton battle out the first Merseyside derby of the season with everything to play for. While the Reds are coming into this game of the back of a disappointing night in Paris, the Toffees have been in great form in the league.

Jurgen Klopp’s men haven’t lost a league game so far this season and should be gunning to keep their run going in order to keep pace with Manchester City. Marco Silva’s men, meanwhile, would have other ideas in their armoury.

They are a very good team now, probably the best Blues squad visiting Anfield in a while. Hence, it won’t be easy for the home team, considering the fact that this is a derby, where form certainly goes out of the window.

Let’s take a look at the expected key battle that could decide the fate of this close city encounter at Anfield:

The battle of Liverpool’s guile vs Everton’s grit

We all know about the qualities Liverpool possess in the final third. The good thing they have added to their game this season is the patience, which is used when teams sit deep at Anfield and just defend. This is where the Reds used to struggle under Klopp in the past few seasons.

However, there is a calmness around the team even when they are up against 11 defenders on the pitch.

Everton won’t really sit deep in that fashion but there could be spells in the game where they have to put every player behind the ball and stop their opponents from opening them up. The Toffees have been pretty good defensively in the last two or three weeks. They kept a clean sheet at Stamford Bridge before the international break to signal their improvement.

Hence, we could see the battle of Liverpool’s attack versus the sturdiness of Everton, who now have a decent structure from back to front under Marco Silva. If the home side fails to get an early goal, it will help the away team to settle and then progress forward.

That being said, the Toffees possess pace in their forward line, which could threaten the Reds’ back-line on the counter-attack. Furthermore, in Gylfi Sigurdsson, the former has a fantastic player who can create chances out of very little. His set-piece delivery will be crucial come Sunday.

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All in all, expect a feisty encounter with two teams who are not a million miles away in terms of current form.