Paul Merson and Chris Sutton are among the pundits who expect Liverpool to beat Everton in this week’s Merseyside derby at Anfield. And the pair have both predicted the exact same scoreline as the Premier League resumes.
“I’ve got to go with Liverpool here,” Merson said. “David Moyes has done a mind-blowing job at Everton. He proved me wrong when I said it wouldn’t work for him the second time at Goodison Park.
“I had no doubts about him being a top manager, no question about that! I just thought Everton as a club changed a lot from the last time he was here. It just shows how top managers can work their magic whenever they want.
“I expect Everton to make it hard for Liverpool, but I look at them and I don’t see an X-factor that can hurt the hosts at Anfield. Liverpool have not consistently blown teams away this season. They have just been efficient and consistently better than the others.”
Liverpool is currently 12 points ahead of Arsenal in the standings. The Gunners could cut the gap at the top to nine points, though, by beating Fulham at the Emirates Stadium later today.
“I don’t want to make it sound like Liverpool are not a good team or that they don’t deserve to win the league but they are not like the best Manchester City side that dominated the league under Pep Guardiola,” Merson, writing in his Sportskeeda column, continued.
“Liverpool were looking a bit leggy before the international break, so the rest came at the right time for them. The holy grail for Liverpool is winning the league and I expect them to do it. If you asked any Liverpool fan what trophy they wanted to win at the start of the season, they would’ve picked the Premier League.”
(Image: Robbie Jay Barratt – AMA/Getty Images)
Merson went for a 2-0 Liverpool victory, which has been the scoreline in each of the last three editions of the fixture in L4. In the game before that, Everton won by two goals to nil in the season when there were no fans inside the stadium.
“They (Liverpool) are going to put Everton under all sorts of pressure, but the Toffees will be well-organized defensively and have an eye on a counter-attack too,” Sutton wrote for BBC Sport. “Everton boss Moyes has transformed a team that was lacking belief, and he would love nothing more than to go to Anfield and get something.
“I am expecting a typical derby, in that I would not be surprised if this is another emotional game as well as an explosive one, with maybe a couple of players will lose their heads. There will be plenty of drama along the way, but I am pretty sure Liverpool will be back to their best form and end up taking the three points. 2-0 Liverpool.”
Liverpool.com says: Merson and Sutton going 2-0 is a sensible suggestion. If the Reds are back to their usual selves, it isn’t hard to see a controlled performance where a couple of goals go in and both teams are prepared to see the result out. David Moyes is still chasing a first win at Anfield but Liverpool should have enough to overpower his side.
