Everton vs Liverpool preview, H2H, team news, line-ups and prediction

Everton will host city rivals Liverpool at Goodison Park on Wednesday in the 296th Merseyside derby.

This will be the last derby between the two Merseyside clubs to be played at Goodison Park as the Toffees will be moving to the newly constructed 52,000-capacity bowl design Everton Stadium at Bramley-Moore Dock in the 2025-26 season.

The Toffees have played at Goodison since 1892 and will hope to mark their last game at the historic stadium with a remarkable performance against their city rivals, who are in red-hot form.

Since David Moyes took charge last week, a sense of optimism has surrounded Everton fans, replacing the initial gloom with a wave of nostalgia.

However, such moments rarely last for this Everton side. A 1-0 home loss to Aston Villa in his first game back served as a stark reality check, highlighting the magnitude of the challenge ahead. Even the typical lift that comes with a managerial change was nowhere to be found.

However, the former West Ham manager soon got the team back on track with a string of positive results, with a 3-2 win against Tottenham Hotspur securing his first win since returning as Everton’s boss.

The Toffees edged further from the relegation zone with a 1-0 victory at Brighton & Hove Albion courtesy of Iliman Ndiaye’s first-half penalty—securing as many away wins in a single match as Dyche managed in his previous 21.

That triumph marked a Premier League first for Everton—winning a game where their only shot on target was a penalty. Moyes acknowledged the team’s below-par performance but praised their defensive resilience in securing the result.

It was also Everton’s first consecutive league win since April, following their triumph over Tottenham a week earlier, and the first time they found the net in back-to-back league fixtures since October.

In their last Premier League game, goals from Abdoulaye Doucoure, Iliman Ndiaye, and a double from Beto put Leicester City to the sword to secure a third consecutive Premier League victory for the Toffees.

The 4-0 win also ensured that Everton are now nine points clear of the relegation zone on 26 points, and they could potentially go further up as they’re only three points adrift of 13th-place Manchester United.

While a loss to Liverpool won’t directly affect their league position as they’re now seven points clear of Wolverhampton Wanderers in 17th, a win for the Toffees could see them potentially usurp the likes of West Ham United and Tottenham if either London team fails to win.

For Liverpool, they’re arguably Europe’s most in-form team this season. They’ve lost only three games in all competitions this season and only one in each of those competitions.

In the Premier League, the 1-0 loss to Nottingham Forest at Anfield remains their only defeat this season.

They’ve been flawless in every other aspect of the league this season, winning the most games (17), recording the joint-fewest draws in the Premier League alongside Nottingham Forest (5), scoring the most goals in the league (56), and conceding the fewest goals (21).

Recent seasons have taught fans not to tip anyone on top of the table for the league title until the final minute of the season, as teams including Liverpool have allowed a seven-point lead to slip to lose the title.

However, this Liverpool team looks a different breed, and their performances against high-level opponents this season in not just the Premier League but also in Europe are an indication that they will surely bypass being called ‘bottlers’ at the end of the season.

After successive draws against Manchester United and Nottingham Forest, they’ve now won their last three Premier League games in a row, coming against Brentford, Ipswich Town, and Bournemouth.

Slot will now look to make it four in a row in his first Merseyside derby as Liverpool boss when his side travels to Goodison Park on Wednesday.

Everton vs Liverpool match details 

• Date: Wednesday, 12th February, 2025
• Location: Liverpool, England
• Venue: Goodison Park
• Kick-off time: 7:30 PM GMT, 2:30 PM ET
• Tickets: You can purchase Everton tickets through the club exchange or via reputable online resellers.

Match stats and head-to-head 

• Liverpool and Everton have met 295 times, with Liverpool winning 125, Everton securing 84 victories, and 86 matches ending in a draw.

• Everton won 2-0 in their last Premier League clash with Liverpool in April 2024, last managing back-to-back league derby wins in the 1984-85 season.

• Liverpool’s 2-0 defeat at Goodison Park last season ended a 12-game unbeaten away run against Everton in the Premier League (W3 D9). They haven’t suffered consecutive losses at the venue since 1992-94.

• Everton vs Liverpool has seen the most red cards (23) and goalless draws (12) in Premier League history. Liverpool have also scored more 90th-minute winners against Everton (5) than any team against a single opponent in the competition.

• Liverpool have beaten Everton 99 times in all competitions (D77 L68). A win here would make them the fifth English league side to record 100 victories over a single opponent since the Football League’s inception in 1888.

• This is only the third Premier League meeting between the sides, with Liverpool starting the day as league leaders—the previous two were a 5-2 win and a 0-0 draw in 2019-20, a season in which they clinched the title.

• Liverpool are unbeaten in their last 19 Premier League games (W14 D5). However, in both previous instances where they visited Everton while on a 19+ game unbeaten league run, they lost—1-0 in October 1978 (23-game streak) and 1-0 in March 1988 (31-game streak).

• The Toffees have won their last three league games with an 8-2 aggregate score, equalling their total victories from the previous 21 matches. It’s also as many goals as they scored in their last 14 league fixtures. Moyes last secured four straight league wins in November 2021 with West Ham, while his last such run as Everton manager was in March 2008.

• Everton led 3-0 at halftime in their last two home league games (vs. Tottenham and Leicester). No team in Premier League history has ever held a 3+ goal halftime lead in three consecutive home matches.

• David Moyes won just three of his 22 Premier League Merseyside derbies as Everton boss (D7 L12). His last encounter against Liverpool in charge of Everton was a goalless draw at Anfield in May 2013.

• Arne Slot faces Everton for the first time as Liverpool manager. Only one Liverpool boss has won his first league Merseyside derby away from home—Kenny Dalglish, who guided the Reds to a 3-2 victory in September 1985.

• Mohamed Salah has been directly involved in 21 goals in Liverpool’s 12 Premier League away games this season (13 goals, 8 assists), matching Andy Cole’s 1993-94 record (12 goals, 9 assists) for the most away goal contributions in a single Premier League campaign.

• Iliman Ndiaye has scored in three consecutive Premier League matches. The last Everton player to net in four straight games was Richarlison in February-March 2021—a run that included a goal in a 2-0 win against Liverpool.

• The Toffees ended a five-match winless streak against Liverpool in their last meeting. The Toffees last recorded consecutive wins over the Reds in October 1984, during a stretch where they won three in a row (August 1984-October 1985), a period in which they won two league titles in three years.

• Everton hold one of the league’s worst attacking records, registering 47 shots, 1,413 passes, and averaging 41% possession across their last five games.

Team news 

With Dominic Calvert-Lewin, Armando Broja, and Youssef Chermiti sidelined, Beto is set to lead the line, while Iliman Ndiaye remains undroppable in attack.

Dwight McNeil is also unavailable, but James Garner and Tim Iroegbunam have recently returned from injury. Meanwhile, Carlos Alcaraz could make his debut after joining on loan from Flamengo.

For Liverpool, Trent Alexander-Arnold was absent as the Reds suffered a shocking defeat to Championship bottom side Plymouth Argyle in the FA Cup on Sunday. The England international remains hopeful of a return, though his availability for the trip to the Etihad Stadium remains uncertain.

Meanwhile, England U21 midfielder Tyler Morton is ruled out, with Arne Slot confirming he will be sidelined for “four weeks or more” due to a shoulder injury.

Conor Bradley was also missing from the squad that faced Plymouth, with James McConnell starting at right-back. Should both Bradley and Alexander-Arnold remain unavailable, Joe Gomez could step in to cover the position.

Predicted starting lineup 

Everton predicted starting lineup:

Pickford; Patterson, Tarkowski, Keane, Young; Harrison, Garner, Gueye, Doucoure, Ndiaye; Beto.

Liverpool predicted starting lineup: 

Alisson; Gomez, Konate, Van Dijk, Robertson; Gravenberch, Mac Allister; Salah, Szoboszlai, Gakpo; Diaz.

Prediction

Everton have shown improvement under David Moyes, yet they find themselves just two places above the relegation zone. The Toffees head into this fixture following a 2-0 defeat to Bournemouth in their most recent outing.

Meanwhile, Liverpool sit atop the Premier League table and will look to extend their lead this weekend. Despite being formidable away from home this season, they suffered a 1-0 FA Cup fourth-round exit to Plymouth.

However, they remain one of the most lethal counter-attacking sides globally and will be eager to secure a win against Everton.

We’re predicting a 3-0 win for Liverpool.