Liverpool vs Everton: Merseyside Derby Preview, Team News and Prediction
Arne Slot's side are looking to maintain their perfect Premier League record...
There’s always a certain excitement in the air when Liverpool face Everton, and this season’s first derby feels like it’s carrying something more. Not just because of Anfield and not just because of the points at stake, but because both sides arrive with genuine confidence. The Premier League table doesn’t lie, and neither does both club’s recent results. Liverpool are four wins from four and reigning champions, while Everton, sat just outside the Champions League places, are growing in confidence under David Moyes.
It promises to be a proper game of football, a contest that finally feels like it could live up to its billing. This is the first Merseyside Derby in a long time that feels like it’s arriving at the right moment for both clubs.
Liverpool’s Relentless Rhythm Under Arne Slot
Liverpool have started this campaign like a team with a mission. Arne Slot has further sharpened his title-winning side with the arrivals of Giorgi Mamardashvili, Jeremie Frimpong, Giovanni Leoni, Milos Kerkez, Florian Wirtz, Hugo Ekitike and Alexander Isak. Four wins from four in the Premier League, and a gritty late victory in the Champions League over Atletico Madrid, paint the picture of a side that still knows how to up their level when it matters.
The goals are coming from everywhere, and the belief is coursing through the squad. Yes, they’ve had moments of vulnerability, with Newcastle away springing to mind, but they’ve handled it. Even with the tragic loss of Diogo Jota this summer, whose final goal fittingly came against the Toffees, the squad has shown remarkable resilience.
This is a team that knows what winning looks like, whether it be through outclassing their opponents or finding late winners. They’ve done that five times already this season, and you wouldn’t bet against it happening again.
Moyes’ Everton Look Like a Team Again
For once, Everton don’t just look like passengers in the story of Liverpool’s season. David Moyes is back, and with him has come something Evertonians have craved for too long; structure and ambition.
After a flat opening day defeat to Leeds United, the Toffees have gone four games unbeaten. Wins over Wolves, Mansfield Town and Brighton, and a hard-fought draw with Aston Villa have nudged them up to sixth in the table.
New signings Jack Grealish and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall are setting the tempo. Grealish, unshackled from the tactical rigidity of Manchester City, is thriving. He looks like a man who has been told to enjoy his football again, and that’s dangerous. Every time he picks up the ball, there’s a sense that something might happen. Dewsbury-Hall, too, is proving doubters wrong, playing with a tenacity and clarity that is lifting the players around him.
Iliman Ndiaye brings a different kind of threat with his quick feet, clever movement, and a willingness to take risks in the final third. It’s a trio that is giving Everton something they’ve lacked for years.
There’s still fragility, of course. Away from home they’ve shipped chances. Leeds and Wolves both created enough to score three or four. But for the first time in a long while, Everton look like they want to win games, not just avoid losing them.
Derby Day Jeopardy Returns
That’s what makes this derby so compelling. Not just the history, not just the red versus blue narrative. It’s that both teams come into it with something real to protect and something to prove.
For Liverpool, it’s about keeping that winning run alive, showing that last season’s title wasn’t a one-off. For Everton, it’s about proving that this run of form isn’t a fluke, that this team under Moyes can go to places like Anfield and not crumble.
The difference this time is that Everton feel like a proper team. They’re huddling before matches, celebrating together, fighting for one another. There’s a collective spirit that has long been missing.
And yet, this is still Anfield. Liverpool haven’t lost a league game at home in more than a year, and they’ve built a habit of late winners that will keep opposition players on edge until the very last whistle.
Prediction: Liverpool’s Firepower Might Be Too Much – But Only Just
It’s tempting to get carried away with Everton’s revival, and for good reason. They’ve been quietly building something that looks sustainable. Grealish is back to his best, Dewsbury-Hall is finally getting recognition, and the team as a whole looks more balanced.
But Liverpool are Liverpool. They’ve found ways to win when they haven’t been at their best, and with Anfield behind them, they’ll be favourites.
Still, don’t expect a walkover. Everton will come to play. They’ll look to get the ball wide, they’ll throw men into the box, and they’ll try to use that newfound cohesion to make it a battle. And with Liverpool’s defence still capable of giving up chances, Everton will feel there’s an opportunity.
But when it comes to the crunch, Liverpool’s mentality, their rhythm under Slot, and the attacking weapons at their disposal might just be enough.
Prediction: Liverpool 2-1 Everton
Liverpool predicted XI: Alisson, Szoboszlai, Konate, Van Dijk, Kerkez, Gravenberch, Mac Allister, Wirtz, Gakpo, Ekitike, Salah
Everton predicted XI: Pickford, O’Brien, Tarkowski, Keane, Garner, Gueye, Iroegbunam, Dewsbury-Hall, Grealish, Ndiaye, Beto