Liverpool look to take the next step in their Premier League title chase as they visit Everton in the season’s final edition of the Merseyside derby on Wednesday at Goodison Park.
The Reds are level with leaders Arsenal on points at the top of the table, but do not control their own destiny, as Manchester City lurk a point back holding a game in hand. Liverpool also sit behind both their title rivals on goal differential, one behind Man City and eight back of Arsenal.
With Jurgen Klopp set to depart at the end of the season, leaving Liverpool with significant uncertainty into the future, there is extra pressure in the air to secure a title now and set the club up for the coming years under new management.
Everton are once again battling relegation, in part thanks to their points deduction for PSR violations, and while they hold a five-point cushion above 18th-placed Luton Town, the Toffees know that points against their local rivals would be a fitting push towards top flight safety next season.
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Toss out the result the last time these two teams faced off this season, as Everton were a man down by the 37th minute, and from there, bunkered in to keep Liverpool out. They made it to the 75th minute before conceding, doing well for themselves all things considered and falling by just a respectable 2-0 scoreline given the situation.
This game should be much more open. Everton haven’t scored on Liverpool in five straight league matches, dating back to Demarai Gray’s goal near the end of the first half in a 4-1 defeat way back in 2021. That run will end eventually, and if they can’t score on this chaotic Liverpool side that looks exhausted late in the season, when will they? Plus, two of the league’s worst finishers in Beto and Dominic Calvert-Lewin may both miss the match with injuries, which will allow others to take the opportunities in front of net.
We don’t normally recommend anytime goal scorer selections on a player with minus odds, but this is just too good to pass up. Mo Salah is rested and ready to go having played just 16 minutes off the bench against Fulham on Saturday, and he’s taking on one of his favourite opponents in Everton.
Salah loves a Merseyside derby, with six goals against Everton in their last seven Premier League meetings, including three in their last two games. The Egyptian is great on extra rest as well — he scored a goal and assisted three against Sparta Prague last month after coming off the bench in two straight games prior.
Additionally, Salah is Liverpool’s penalty taker, and Everton are quite mistake-prone in their own 18-yard box — they’ve conceded eight penalties this season, second-most in the Premier League, and were lucky not to concede any of three potential penalties last time out against Nottingham Forest.
The Reds do at times look as if they are exhausted at the end of the season, embodying the body language of manager Jurgen Klopp who appears completely out of steam and justified in taking his upcoming sabbatical. Yet there are signs they are ready to finish the season strong up front.
With Diogo Jota back to lead the line, Liverpool looked quality against Fulham, testing Bernd Leno on a number of occasions and putting half of their 14 shots on frame. The Reds don’t lack for chance creation, and they seemed to put their recent struggles scoring from open play to bed in that match as well. There’s also a possible focus on goal differential down the stretch of the season, knowing Arsenal hold an eight-goal advantage but also face a difficult run-in of fixtures. Jota is down for another two weeks with a new hip injury, cruelly, but they should still manage to keep the level up.
Against Everton recently, Liverpool have managed just six goals in their last four games against the Toffees, but they collected over 2.0 xG in all four of those matches totaling 8.82, suggesting a reversion to the mean is on hand soon.
To cap it all off, referee Andy Madley has overseen 14 Liverpool fixtures in his refereeing career, a collection from which the Reds are unbeaten, including his two most recent matches in 2024 being a 4-1 Liverpool win over Luton Town and a 4-0 Liverpool victory over Bournemouth.
This match will stream exclusively on Peacock in the United States, as rights-holders NBC Sports have decided instead to televise the match between Crystal Palace and Newcastle on USA Network.
In Canada, Fubo is the exclusive broadcast rights-holder for the Premier League this season, with every match from August to May streaming live on the platform. Fubo also hold the exclusive broadcast rights to Serie A games in Canada, while other leagues like MLS, Bundesliga, and La Liga can be found throughout the season as well.
This midweek Premier League match will be broadcast domestically in the UK on Sky Sports platforms.