Everton captain Phil Neville has revealed that he can't enjoy Merseyside derbies against Liverpool ahead of this weekend's encounter at Goodison Park.

The two sides meet for the first time this season on Sunday with the Toffees six points ahead of their local rivals in the Premier League table.

"Listen, you can't hide from the fact there's a lot of hatred between the two teams," Neville told The Telegraph. "We'd do anything to beat each other.

"That said, there's real respect too. You look forward to the games, but you can't actually enjoy them because there's so much riding on them."

Despite their superior standing in the table, Everton go into the match having failed to record a win against their local rivals in two years.

Written by
Jack Prescott