History will be made on the banks of the Royal Blue Mersey on Sunday as Liverpool host Everton in the 248th Merseyside derby – and the first at Hill Dickinson Stadium.
The Toffees should head into the match in a positive mood. They have won three of their last five and snatched a late draw at Brentford last time out to remain firmly in the race for Europe. They are bidding to win three successive Premier League matches at Hill Dickinson for the first time, nearly a month after that thrilling 3-0 victory
over Chelsea – arguably their best performance of the season so far.
As for Liverpool, their hopes of a trophy this season were ended by a comprehensive 4-0 aggregate defeat by PSG (shoutout to the PSG fan who downloaded an Everton badge onto his phone to goad the Reds at Anfield – lovely stuff).
It was a 17th defeat of the season in all competitions for Arne Slot’s side; on only six occasions have they lost more since 1992, and they are just three off their record of 20 set in 1993.
They are four points clear of Chelsea in the final Champions League qualification spot, sitting in fifth, but a chasing pack – including Everton – are hunting them down. Only once in the last 13 seasons have Everton been within five points of Liverpool this late in the campaign. Another win here and they could end the weekend sixth, with the prospect of Champions League football and finishing as Merseyside’s top dogs within sight.
I know what you’re saying, though. This is Liverpool, right?
Everton have won the derby just six times this century, so form going into those games has rarely mattered.
But what it does show is that Everton should not fear Liverpool – something they often do, particularly at Anfield. They should also take confidence from the last two games at Goodison – a 2-0 win in April 2024 and that famous James Tarkowski-inspired 2-2 win (wa-heey!) in February last year.
The wonderful 1878s have plenty planned before the game. The pre-match coach greeting is back; there will also be a South Stand display and an incredible tifo – the leak of which caused absolute carnage on social media earlier this week.
Oh and the deep fried Mars bars from the Scotland game last month are back. Happy days.
Everton are well in the hunt for Europe, but their position is precarious – results on Saturday saw them drop to 10th and could even slip into the bottom half by the end of the weekend. But it’s fantastic to just have something positive to play for at this stage of the season. You only have to look at Aston Villa, Nottingham Forest and Crystal Palace for evidence of what European football can bring. Let’s hope they grasp this opportunity.
Previous meeting
Liverpool 2-1 Everton, 20 September 2025
File it under ‘yet another Anfield defeat’, though the Toffees will have some regrets from this one. A timid first half saw them fall 2-0 behind, fearing the worst. But a second-half fightback saw Idrissa Gueye halve the deficit and left us all wondering what might have happened had they performed like that for the whole game.
Team news
Jack Grealish is Everton’s only injury absentee, with Charly Alcaraz having resumed training after more than a month out.
Tyrique George impressed off the bench as Everton fought back against Brentford last week, but my hunch is that David Moyes will stick with the same starting XI.
Final word
Evertonians have been desperate to get back to Hill Dickinson since the final whistle of the Chelsea game last month. If players and fans can pick up where they left off, it could be quite the afternoon.
