The Merseyside XI From The 2014-15 Squads Featuring 6 Liverpool Stars & 5 From Everton

Merseyside XI from 2014-15 squads

As Liverpool and Everton prepare themselves to enter the season, on the back of a strong season last time, we check out the best players in both the teams from Merseyside. The rivalry is huge, even families are divided with their loyalties and fans are passionate and hate losing to each other. Here is the Merseyside XI based on current squads.

Goalkeeper:

Tim Howard

The Everton goalkeeper is an experienced campaigner and created a record in the world cup history with the maximum number of saves(16) in a match when his U.S.A. faced Belgium. Howard has consistently been among the best keepers of the league for quite some time.

Defenders:

Right Back: Seamus Coleman

The Irishman had an outstanding season last time and much is expected of him this season as well. He is a very attack minded full back and is good technically. Everton’s system of playing with advancing fullbacks helped him a lot last season and the club signing Barry on a permanent basis means he’ll have good defensive cover when he’s forward.

Centre Back: Dejan Lovren

Liverpool’s new signing was a key player for Southampton. The Croatian is a good no-nonsense center back and is a strong aerial threat. He is mobile abd versatile, something which would give Rodgers many tactical options. He’s expected to fit into the starting line-up.

Centre Back: Mamadou Sakho

Sakho is a typical big stopper. He won’t make fancy passes or attacking contributions but is a tough force while closing down opponents and stopping them in their tracks. Last season, Sakho struggled with injuries. He is much more assured at the back than Martin Skrtel who has been proved reckless many times.

Left Back: Leighton Baines

He was disappointing in the World Cup but he barely lets the Everton fans down. The Englishman is a top attacking fullback, often at the cost of his defending. His crosses are his strength and he can get good bend on the ball while delivering it. He is also a regular set piece taker for the team and the presence of McCarthy in defensive midfield helps him a lot while attacking.

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Midfielders

Midfield: Adam Lallana

Lallana proved himself with Southampton in the last two seasons and made significant progress personally as well as he found himself playing for his country. Lallana can operate wide left or as a central attacking midfielder. His main attributes are his dribbling, vision and his passing. Lallana also works hard on the pitch, has good speed, energy and balanced physicality which makes him a good player overall.

Midfield: Steven Gerrard

Gerrard has adopted a new position in midfield that is of a deep seated playmaker. He positions close to the center backs and spreads play by passing to the wings or through the centre. He is also a decent tackler and reader of the game, which has led to appreciation from many experts who applaud his versatility. He has been Liverpool’s key man for a long time now, and it remains to be seen whether age has caught up with him.

Midfield: Gareth Barry

An extremely important player for Everton last season and a very shrewd buy from Roberto Martinez. He has tons of Premier League experience and knows when to make the tackles, blocks and interceptions. Barry has slowed down because of his age but at times he shows that he still has the goalscoring ability with some decent long range shooting. He is a good passer as well, as he has strong vision to pass accurately and control possession. His defensive workrate and partnership with McCarthy is one reason why the fullbacks can afford to attack so much.

Midfield: Raheem Sterling

It is a tough choice when we consider either Ross Barkley or Raheem Sterling for this last midfield position. Sterling has been performing better and has been under appreciated. Sterling has a lot of end product to his flair, which Barkley needs to develop by improving his numbers. Sterling, a young talent, has a long and fruitful club and country career ahead of him, and so does Barkley.

Forward: Romelu Lukaku

The big Belgian finally transferred from Chelsea to Everton for their record fee of £28m. He has strength, pace, power and attacking workrate and seemed to fit perfectly in Martinez’s system. He needed to play a lot and improve which is possible at Everton unlike Chelsea. He has been consistent in the Premier League for the last two seasons and has 32 league goals in 2 seasons.

Forward: Daniel Sturridge

Another ex-Chelsea striker, Sturridge found his feet at Liverpool banging goals day in and day out. Sometimes people call him selfish but he is really confident and has a really good left foot. Doubts are cast over how many goals he’ll score without his mesmerizing partnership with Suarez, but the Englishman has talent and has proved initially last season that he can play alone and still be consistent.