The 29th round of Premier League has got a treat in store for us with the 233rd edition of Merseyside derby, which as always promises to be an exciting match between two of the oldest rivals in the world.
Everton are in for a tough match as they await the neighbouring club Liverpool, who will come into this match with only 1 goal in mind and that is to win. After 2 mishaps in the title race, Liverpool can not afford to lose any more matches and give up points if they wish to win the title race. A win here will be the number one priority after Manchester City won their 29th round match against Bournemouth. As it stands now, Liverpool are 2nd in the Premier League, 2 points behind Manchester City. Liverpool will come into this match after a 5:0 win over Watford on Wednesday, which will only boost their confidence prior to this derby. Looking further down their record, Liverpool are 2-3-0 in the last 5; winning against previously mentioned Watford and Bournemouth (3:0), while they only managed to grab a point against Leicester (1:1), West Ham (1:1) and Manchester United (0:0). Nonetheless, Liverpool are considered the favourites to win this match, which is not surprising especially due to the fact they are desperate to grab all 3 points and that they have not lost against Everton ever since 2010.
Everton on the other side are coming into the next fixture after a 0:3 win over Cardiff, which ended their 3 game losing streak when they lost to Wolves (1:3), Manchester City (0.2) and Watford (1:0). Despite a high 0:3 win on Wednesday, Everton are expected to struggle against Jurgen Klopp and his men, which was the case for the last 9 years when they were matches against Liverpool. Looking at Everton’s performances this season, they have not been too promising. At most they were average. As it stands now, Everton are 10th in the league with an overall record of 10-6-12 and 2-0-3 in the last 5 played. As for home games, Everton have not been surprisingly good either with a 6-3-5 record and a 1-0-4 in the last 5 played. Liverpool will enter this match without Gomez, Lovren and Oxlade Chamberlain, while Firmino is doubtful. Everton have got both Baines and Mina as questionable.
While Everton managed to crash Cardiff in the recent match, I don’t have much hope for them as they face title-chasing Liverpool. What I am concerned about is who will score goals for Everton, who don’t possess a strong attack. If we disregard the 3:0 win against the relegation zone team Cardiff, Everton have only managed to score two goals in the 4 games leading to Cardiff fixture. While I believe Everton is not strong in the attack, the same can be said for Liverpool, who are still without a real striker. Yes, they scored 5 goals against Watford, and 3 against Bournemouth, but I have my doubts they will get that many chances against Everton at Goodison Park. Looking at the last 4 Merseyside derbies, 3 of them ended with less than 2.5 goals, which is something I can see happening today as well. Expect an entertaining match which should end with 2 goals at most.
Prediction: Under 2.50 goals
Odds: 2.04 Asianodds
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