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2022/23 English Premier League
Matchday 23
Liverpool v Everton
Anfield
Liverpool, England
Monday, 13 February 2023
Kick-off is at 22h00
Everton won't have a better opportunity to come out on top against Liverpool when they meet in the 242nd
Merseyside derby at Anfield on Monday, February 13.
The Toffees have endured a disappointing season which culminated in the sacking of Frank Lampard on January 23 in the wake of their 2-0 defeat to West Ham - their third loss on the spin.
Lampard departed Goodison Park with the team tied on 15 points with rock-bottom Southampton in 19th position and his replacement, Sean Dyche, made the perfect start by overseeing a shock 1-0 victory over league leaders Arsenal on February 4.
Dyche arrested an eight-match winless run in the process to lift Everton above Bournemouth into 18th place and they are just three points adrift of Leicester, who sit 14th in the standings.
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Meanwhile, the Reds have experienced a truly dire campaign by their own high standards and trail the Gunners by a massive 21 points in 10th spot.
Jurgen Klopp's side reached a new low point with a 3-0 reverse at Wolves on January 4, which was their third defeat in four games and left them without a win in 2023.
The Toffees have only claimed the derby spoils twice in the last 25 league meetings with their neighbours and the blue half of Merseyside will be licking their lips in anticipation of a rare triumph.
Liverpool will be putting their hopes on talisman Mohamed Salah, who has struggled to replicate the form that saw him share the Golden Boot with Tottenham's Son Heung-Min last term.
Salah has only registered seven goals in 20 top-flight appearances, which is a long way off the 23 he notched in 2021-22 to take the Reds to the brink of a second title in three years.
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Everton have solely missed Dominic Calvert-Lewin, who has been plagued by injuries over the last two seasons. The rest of the forwards have failed to step up in his absence, with Demarai Gray their top scorer this term with just three goals.
Alex Iwobi has been the club's star performer and chief creator, contributing one goal and six assists in 21 league outings. The attacking midfielder could hold the key to unlocking Liverpool's leaky defence.
In team news, the hosts remain without a whole host of first-team regulars, defensive duo Virgil van Dijk and Ibrahima Konate (both thigh) chief amongst them. Roberto Firmino (calf) is close to a return, while Diogo Jota (calf) will start training next week. Luis Diaz (knee), Arthur Melo (thigh) and Fabio Tavares (illness) are the other absentees.
Calvert-Lewin (thigh) and Michael Keane (knee) unlikely to feature for the visitors, who are also missing James Garner (back), Andros Townsend and Nathan Patterson (both knee).
Klopp concedes his players are low in confidence and he wants to see more of an effort from them by getting stuck in and putting their bodies on the line.
"It's really difficult to summarise [our form since the turn of the year]. The team is not full of confidence, you can see that – the first 12 minutes were obvious, but it was about defending, being compact, being active," the German said.
"Do you need a lot of confidence for that? I am not so sure. Put your body between the ball and the opponent, block the ball and these kind of things, avoid the cross."
Dyche is hoping to build on the performance against the Gunners and reminded his players that a lot of hard work lies ahead in the weeks to come as he looks to quickly get his ideas across.
"I've just said to them that it's a start point, that's all it is. We're laying down the fibre of what we want to be as a group but this is only a start point, no matter who you beat," he said.
"That win doesn't solve everything. We've got to put layers and layers and layers on top of that. It's a great start point, of course. Arsenal are flying but the next win isn't guaranteed because of it and I've told the players that already.
"I've told them to come in ready to start again on Monday, to keep working and to keep improving."
Head-to-Head (Last Five Premier League Meetings)
Matches - 5
Liverpool - 2
Everton - 1
Draws - 2
Premier League fixtures - matchday 23:
Saturday, February 11
14h30: West Ham United v Chelsea
17h00: Arsenal v Brentford
17h00: Crystal Palace v Brighton & Hove Albion
17h00: Fulham v Nottingham Forest
17h00: Leicester City v Tottenham Hotspur
17h00: Southampton v Wolverhampton Wanderers
19h30: Bournemouth v Newcastle United
Sunday, February 12
16h00: Leeds United v Manchester United
18h30: Manchester City v Aston Villa
Monday, February 13
22h00: Liverpool v Everton
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