Barclays Premier League

  • Venue: Anfield
  • Date: Tuesday, 28 January

Match Stats

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TEAM NEWS

Liverpool duo Joe Allen and Mamadou Sakho are both doubtful as they continue to nurse hamstring injuries.

The Reds are already without injured quartet Jose Enrique, Daniel Agger, Lucas Leiva and Glen Johnson.

Everton are assessing knocks to Phil Jagielka, Sylvain Distin, Antolin Alcaraz, Seamus Coleman, Ross Barkley and Steven Pienaar.

New striker Lacina Traore may be risked despite a recent hamstring injury, but Bryan Oviedo (broken leg) is out.

MATCH PREVIEW

Brendan Rodgers's belief that Liverpool should still be considered as title contenders despite being six points behind third place is not entirely far-fetched.

Why injuries make for a very different Merseyside derby

Steven Gerrard and Ross Barkley

Robbie Savage: "Ross Barkley is a local lad, so he understands what this game means - but he is also fearless, which he showed with his brilliant performance in that 3-3 draw in November.

"If he is fit, he will play in the space between Liverpool's defence and midfield and it will be a great to see Steven Gerrard try to stop him. If Barkley is not playing, then the Liverpool captain's life will be a lot easier."

It's based on the fact that all the other sides in the current top six still have to play at Anfield, whilst Liverpool have already played them all away.

Whilst that's true, Rodgers would probably agree that Liverpool will need to take maximum points from those five crucial home games to exert any real pressure on the breakaway top three, starting with this mouth-watering derby.

Liverpool should be confident against anyone at Anfield, where they've lost just one of their last 20, but the sloppy home draw with Villa last time out will need to be a one-off.

If the Reds still consider themselves to be in the title race, what about Everton? Just a point worse off than Rodgers's side, Everton's campaign has perhaps been the better story, however impressive Liverpool have been.

The manner in which Roberto Martinez has changed Everton's approach, without losing any of the sheer bloody-mindedness that was a feature of the team under David Moyes, must already have made him a contender for manager of the season.

If Everton were to finish in the top four or win the FA Cup, then Martinez would have a very strong case indeed.

Like Liverpool, the Toffees play some lovely stuff going forward, but defensively they're better than their neighbours.

Since the first Merseyside mash-up of the season, the thunderous 3-3 draw at Goodison in November, Liverpool have conceded 15 goals in 10 Premier League games to Everton's seven.

LAWRO'S PREDICTION

Image of Mark Lawrenson Mark Lawrenson Football analyst

"It is a tough call to pick a winner but I just wonder if Luis Suarez and Daniel Sturridge will make the difference for Liverpool this time."

Nobody has scored more than one past an Everton keeper since, you guessed it, Liverpool.

Working out how many players you'd pick to make a combined XI from each squad, if everyone was fit, is an interesting exercise if you have a spare 10 minutes; mine came down to six of one and five of the other, but that's all I'm giving away.

MATCH FACTS

Head-to-head

  • Liverpool are unbeaten in the last 13 Premier League Merseyside derbies at Anfield (W6, D7). Everton's last away win came courtesy of a Kevin Campbell goal in 1999.
  • Everton have gone six Premier League matches without a win against Liverpool, although the last three meetings have all been drawn.
  • The Merseyside derby has produced 20 red cards in the Premier League, more than other fixture in the division.

Liverpool

  • Liverpool are unbeaten in their last eight Premier League home matches, only dropping points in the 2-2 draw with Aston Villa last time out. They have scored at least twice in each of those games, and managed three goals or more in six of them.
  • The Reds have scored a league-high 64% of their goals this season in the first half.
  • Luis Suarez needs one goal to match his 2012-13 tally of 23.
  • Steven Gerrard has scored seven Premier League goals against Everton, the most by any player in Merseyside derbies.

Everton

  • The Toffees are unbeaten in their last seven Premier League away matches (W3, D4), their best streak since an eight-match run (W2, D6) between September and December 2010.
  • They have conceded 11 goals in away matches - the joint-fewest in the league, alongside Chelsea.
  • Roberto Martinez could earn his 100th league win as a manager. It would be his 12th Premier League victory with Everton, the most he has achieved in a single season in the top flight.
  • Nine-goal top scorer Romelu Lukaku has only scored once in his last nine league matches, and none of his last six away appearances. He has scored four goals in four Premier League appearances against Liverpool.
  • Phil Jagielka could make his 200th Premier League appearance for Everton.