{"id":29170,"date":"2025-09-18T16:12:11","date_gmt":"2025-09-18T16:12:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/29170\/"},"modified":"2025-09-18T16:12:11","modified_gmt":"2025-09-18T16:12:11","slug":"liverpool-vs-everton-five-subplots-that-could-decide-the-merseyside-derby","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/29170\/","title":{"rendered":"Liverpool vs Everton: Five Subplots That Could Decide the Merseyside Derby"},"content":{"rendered":"

Where will the
\nMerseyside derby be won and lost on Saturday? We pick out five
\nareas of the game that could prove crucial when Liverpool host
\nEverton.<\/p>\n

The Merseyside derby is always hugely important to Liverpool<\/a>
\nand Everton<\/a>,
\nbut it also feels significant to the wider Premier
\nLeague<\/a> this time.<\/p>\n

Both teams have started the season well. The Reds have four wins
\nfrom four, beginning their title defence in effective fashion. The
\nToffees, meanwhile, haven\u2019t finished above 10th in the table since
\n2018-19 yet currently sit sixth in the Premier League
\nstandings.<\/p>\n

Liverpool are strong favourites with the Opta
\nsupercomputer<\/a> to win the derby but Everton have rarely arrived
\nat Anfield in such fine fettle. Here are five factors that may
\ndetermine the colour Merseyside is painted at full-time on
\nSaturday.<\/p>\n

Will
\nMohamed Salah Kickstart His Premier League Season?<\/p>\n

Mohamed
\nSalah<\/a> is not like most players. He has scored twice and
\nassisted a dramatic 100th- minute winner, yet it feels like he
\nhasn\u2019t started the 2025-26 league campaign that well. Most
\nfootballers would love that level of output.<\/p>\n

Salah has averaged 0.50 non-penalty goals and assists in the
\nleague this season, half his rate from 2024-25 (1.01) and well
\nbelow the average for his Liverpool career (0.88).<\/p>\n

It will partly be because the 33-year-old has been less involved
\nin Liverpool\u2019s play than in years past. Salah is averaging 42.9
\ntouches per 90 minutes, at least four fewer than in any other
\nPremier League campaign with the Reds. If that doesn\u2019t sound
\nsignificant, his rate for open-play touches in the opposition\u2019s
\npenalty area has almost halved since last season, from 10.1 to 6.0
\nper 90.<\/p>\n

\"Mohamed<\/p>\n

The proportion of his touches that are in the opposition\u2019s area
\nis now 13.5%, down from 21% last season. Salah can score or assist
\nfrom just about anywhere, but this shift will affect his
\noutput.<\/p>\n

Across 359 minutes of Premier League football this season, Salah
\nhas averaged just 0.08xG from non-penalty shots. That rate is lower
\nthan 44 players to have played at least 300 minutes in the
\ncompetition this season, and more worrying when considering he
\naveraged 0.49 in 2024-25.<\/p>\n

\"Salah<\/p>\n

A visit from Everton could be just what he needs. With eight
\nPremier League goals against Everton, Salah only trails Steven
\nGerrard (nine) in the derby goal rankings for Liverpool. He has two
\nderby assists too, but he will need to be on the ball more and in
\nmore threatening areas.<\/p>\n

Diogo Jota\u2019s final goal was the winner in this fixture. Nobody
\nwould be surprised if Salah honoured him by doing likewise on
\nSaturday, especially after being boosted by his Champions League
\ngoal against Atl\u00e9tico Madrid in midweek. He was much busier in that
\nmatch on Wednesday night, attempting six shots worth 0.92 xG.<\/p>\n

Jack
\nGrealish Could Be Everton\u2019s X Factor<\/p>\n

The Everton faithful took Jack
\nGrealish<\/a> to their collective heart immediately. How often will
\nthey see a \u00a3100 million player wearing the famous blue shirt?<\/p>\n

He has made a fantastic start. Grealish recently became the
\nfirst Everton player to provide at least two assists in consecutive
\nPremier League games. His red-hot (or should that be \u2018blue hot\u2019?)
\nstart helped him become the competition\u2019s Player of the Month for
\nthe first time in his career.<\/p>\n

Grealish also has an excellent record against Liverpool. He has
\nmore goal contributions in meetings with the Reds (seven) than any
\nother club in his Premier League career.<\/p>\n

Admittedly, this is largely down to his efforts in Aston Villa\u2019s
\nremarkable 7-2 win over the Reds in 2020. Grealish scored twice and
\ncollected a hat-trick of assists, making him the only player in
\nPremier League history to record five goal contributions in a match
\nagainst Liverpool.<\/p>\n

A repeat won\u2019t occur this weekend, though the on-loan Manchester
\nCity winger will be vital to Everton\u2019s attack. Likely starting on
\nthe left of the attacking midfield trident in Everton\u2019s 4-2-3-1
\nformation, it\u2019s unclear which right-back Grealish will aim to
\ntorment.<\/p>\n


\nDominik Szoboszlai<\/a> started the Reds\u2019 previous three league
\ngames after
\nJeremie Frimpong<\/a> began the Community Shield and Premier League
\nopener against Bournemouth. Conor
\nBradley<\/a> played 45 minutes at Burnley last weekend, while
\nFrimpong got the nod against Atl\u00e9tico.<\/p>\n

Whomever Arne Slot selects they will need to be on their game.
\nGrealish is joint-fourth in the Premier League for completed
\ntake-ons this term, while only Bruno
\nFernandes<\/a> has created more chances in open play.<\/p>\n

\"Grealish<\/p>\n

If he can get past Liverpool\u2019s right-back, Thierno
\nBarry<\/a> or Beto<\/a>
\nneed to be ready as a key pass will likely be heading in their
\ndirection.<\/p>\n

Will the
\nEarly Kick-off Work in Everton\u2019s Favour?<\/p>\n

J\u00fcrgen Klopp was a vocal opponent to 12:30 Saturday kick-offs,
\nparticularly after his Liverpool side had played a European game on
\nWednesday night. That will be the case here, after the
\nReds beat Atl\u00e9tico Madrid 3-2 in dramatic fashion<\/a> in
\nmidweek.<\/p>\n

Liverpool\u2019s results gave Klopp ample reason to be annoyed.
\nBetween August 2022 and April 2023, the Reds drew three and lost
\nthree of their six 12:30 Saturday kick-offs in the Premier League.
\nThat run included a goalless draw at Everton.<\/p>\n

However, the Merseyside derby in question was one of five away
\ngames in that six-game sequence. Slot\u2019s Reds only had two lunchtime
\nSaturday kick-offs in the league last season and they were both on
\nthe road too. Such matches are inevitably more difficult, but they
\nwon both \u2013 2-0 versus Ipswich on the opening day of the season and
\n1-0 at Crystal Palace in October.<\/p>\n

As chance would have it, Liverpool\u2019s last home league game in
\nthis time slot was against Everton in October 2023. Even though
\nAshley
\nYoung<\/a> was sent off in just the 37th minute, Liverpool didn\u2019t
\nbreak the deadlock until Salah converted a 75th-minute penalty. He
\nlater added a second goal in stoppage time.<\/p>\n

As much as the swift turnaround will be tough, whenever
\nLiverpool have played a 12:30 game on a Saturday following a
\nChampions League game on the Wednesday, the league match has been
\naway. The kick-off time may not be the automatic advantage for
\nEverton that many assume.<\/p>\n

Everton
\nMust Avoid Dark Arts to End David Moyes\u2019 Anfield
\nDrought<\/p>\n

There is no sugarcoating David Moyes\u2019 record against Liverpool
\nat Anfield. It is horrendous.<\/p>\n

The Scot is winless in 20 league matches at Anfield, collecting
\na paltry six points from a possible 60. It is the joint-most
\nPremier League games any manager has played at a stadium without a
\nvictory.<\/p>\n

The problem for Moyes is that he\u2019s tied with himself for this
\nunwanted record, thanks to also failing to win in 20 games at
\nStamford Bridge. At least he doesn\u2019t have to worry about traveling
\nto Chelsea until mid-December.<\/p>\n

\"David<\/p>\n

Indiscipline has been part of the problem. The Merseyside derby
\nhas seen more red cards than any other Premier League fixture.
\nMoyes\u2019 Everton account for a large proportion of the total of 25,
\nwith 11 amassed on his watch.<\/p>\n

It is the most any team have had under one manager in a fixture.
\nThe tally includes dismissals for Andy van der Meyde and Steven
\nPienaar in Anfield derby defeats.<\/p>\n

All eyes will be on match referee Darren England once the derby
\ntackles thunder in. He sent off
\nRyan Gravenberch<\/a> at Anfield in the final match of last season,
\nthough that was for a professional foul rather than a dangerous
\nchallenge. England hasn\u2019t shown a red card in his 14 previous
\nEverton matches.<\/p>\n

Moyes has rarely taken such an in-form side to Anfield. If his
\nplayers can maintain their discipline then it could help him secure
\na famous first victory at the stadium.<\/p>\n

The
\nSet-Piece Factor Could Prove Decisive<\/p>\n

When these teams met for the final time at Goodison Park,
\nEverton opened the scoring from a set-play. With possession likely
\nto be at a premium for the Blues on Saturday, this may prove their
\nbest route to scoring once again.<\/p>\n

While Everton cannot match up to Arsenal for dead-ball
\nproficiency, they have been among the best of the rest. They scored
\n19 goals from set-pieces in 2023-24, a total that has been topped
\nonly 12 times in the Premier League from 2009-10 onward.<\/p>\n

If not as reliant on them since Moyes replaced Sean Dyche, they
\nremain valuable. Everton\u2019s one set-play goal this season opened the
\nscoring in their 3-2 win at Wolves. They scored twice from such
\nsituations in a 3-1 victory at Fulham in May, while their winner at
\nCrystal Palace in February came from a corner. Their importance on
\nthe road is all too clear.<\/p>\n

Everton have also had both the most shots (24) and the greatest
\nshare of shots from set-pieces (50.0%) in the Premier League this
\nseason, while only Arsenal (3.2) have generated a higher xG than
\nthe Toffees from dead-ball situations (3.1).<\/p>\n

\"Everton<\/p>\n

This is pertinent as Liverpool possess one of the greatest
\nshares of shots faced from set-pieces (44.1% \u2013 behind only
\nChelsea\u2019s 46.3%). The Reds lost a 2-0 lead against 10-man Newcastle
\nthanks to goals from dead-ball situations too.<\/p>\n

They deserve credit for recovering from that to hold the supreme
\nthreat of Arsenal at bay in their next match. The Everton fans at
\nthe Anfield Road end will get very excited any time their side gets
\na corner, though.<\/p>\n


\n\"Premier<\/a><\/p>\n

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