The Blues/Toffees/Bitters are struggling. They still sit on the edge of potential relegation, in 17th place, and just one point above Burnley. They have 29 points from 31 games. Worse yet is their record away from home, where they have won 1, drawn 3, and lost 11 (6 points from 15 matches).
The clichė tells us the form book is out the window for this heated derby. But we have recently established that this particular cliché is bullshit.
Everton’s are in worse form than Man U, and also have far less talent. Nonetheless, because of the tactics Everton are likely to employ tomorrow, I do think the Blues probably have a better chance of sucker-punching LFC than Man United did. United committed suicide (as I thought they would), by aggressively pressing Liverpool, and doing it poorly. Everton, by contrast, are far more likely to park the bus. Everton’s defense is not particularly good, whether they park the bus or not. But tomorrow it will almost certainly be more difficult for Liverpool to score at least the first goal or two, especially when compared with the welcome wagon that United rolled out for us on Tuesday. If the Reds manage to get a couple, Everton will be forced to come out of their shell, and who knows what the score line might be after that. But that first goal or two may be hard slogging.
I don’t have a very good sense of who Klopp will start for this one. In recent years Klopp has often rotated the squad heavily when facing Everton. Probably that is in part merely a reflection of those matches coming during heavier portions of LFC’s schedule. But it also probably has something to do with Klopp’s perception of Everton’s lack of strength. Relatively heavy rotation again for this one seems a likely outcome, but I also anticipated more rotation against Man United, which mostly did not occur.
Firmino was out against United with an allegedly minor foot injury, and I doubt he will play tomorrow either. However, in his press conference Klopp did indicate that Bobby is likely to be available either tomorrow or against Villarreal on Wednesday. The Díaz, Mané, Salah combo has started both of the last two matches, so I fully expect Jota to start tomorrow. If Klopp is feeling particularly frisky and nostalgic, he could choose to start Origi tomorrow as well. Divock has reportedly signed a deal to join AC Milan in the summer. But he has given Liverpool seven seasons, during which he has repeatedly popped up with big goals on big occasions. Many of those big occasions have come against Everton. Five of Divock’s 40 total goals for LFC have come against the Blues, including that memorable header off the rebound from Jordan Pickford’s error, at the death of the Anfield derby in December 2018. Origi’s career also took a terrible turn during another Merseyside derby in 2016 — Klopp’s first season. Liverpool were utterly dominating — and embarrassing the Bitters — and were leading 0-4, with one of the four goals coming from Origi. Everton defender Ramiro Funes Mori then slid into Origi with a brutal tackle that was (probably deliberately) high and late. Funes Mori was given a red, but only after he managed to cause serious ankle ligament damage. At the time, Origi had been playing the best football of his career. He never truly regained that form.
I think Klopp has a lot of nostalgia and romanticism in him, and a lot of love for Divock Origi. I also think that Mo Salah and Sadio Mané could both use some rest during this intense run-in. I think Origi is a real possibility tomorrow.
In midfield, I think Fabinho and Thiago both need rests, which means I would expect Henderson and Keïta to start. Elliott and Ox both seem to be a bit out of favor at the moment, so I’d expect Curtis Jones to be the one to complete the trio.
In the back line, I think Robbo may rest this one, and Trent and Matip may get a rest mid-week against Villarreal.
So, my guess at a lineup:
Whoever plays for us, Anfield will be rocking. And Everton suck.
LFC 3 – Everton 0
