A Merseyside derby with major ramifications at both ends of the Premier League table is on the Goodison Park menu this Wednesday, as Everton and Liverpool cross paths once again.
While the Reds enjoyed a drama-free 3-1 win over Fulham on Sunday afternoon, Sean Dyche's men overcame relegation rivals Nottingham Forest 2-0 before an astonishing aftermath.
Match preview
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Two highly similar strikes from Idrissa Gueye and Dwight McNeil - both of which crashed the inside of the post on their way in - earned Everton all three points in the 'points deduction derby' with Nottingham Forest, but it was the visitors' astonishing post-match statement which stole the headlines.
Mere minutes had passed from the referee signalling the end of the game to Nottingham Forest effectively accusing VAR official Stuart Attwell of dishonesty, claiming that they had warned the PGMOL of Attwell's apparent Luton Town connections before being denied three strong penalty shouts at Goodison Park.
As Forest ranted and raved in an unprecedented manner, their hosts - who could certainly count themselves lucky not to give away at least one spot kick - quietly celebrated their second win in three Premier League games, one which has lifted them five points clear of the relegation zone in 16th place.
The Toffees' perennial Premier League status is still far from assured, but they also have the luxury of a game in hand over Forest, Luton and Burnley and have lost just one of their last six at Goodison Park, where they have continued their trend of wins to nil.
Indeed, each of the hosts' last 11 Premier League victories on home turf has seen Everton keep a clean sheet, but they have failed to win any of their last 22 top-flight matches at Goodison Park when conceding, falling to defeat in 17 of them.
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As such, the statistics suggest that Liverpool need only find the back of the net once to bring their bitter foes crashing back down to earth, and they did exactly that against Atalanta BC in the Europa League quarter-finals, but their abysmal 3-0 loss at Anfield meant that their narrow Bergamo beating was not enough to save their continental bacon.
Facing a Fulham side with the seventh-best home record in the division would ostensibly prove a tough test three days on from their Italian jaunt, and it initially proved so as Timothy Castagne cancelled out a Trent Alexander-Arnold free kick, but second-half strikes from Ryan Gravenberch and Diogo Jota slayed the Cottagers.
With Manchester City busy on FA Cup semi-final duty, Liverpool's first Premier League away win since March 2 lifted Jurgen Klopp's side up to second in the standings behind an Arsenal side with a superior goal difference, but City's game in hand means that the crown is still the champions' to lose.
Nevertheless, Sunday's clinical display was a breath of fresh air for Liverpool fans after previous wasteful performances, and the Reds' applaudable Premier League scoring streak on the road now stands at 20 matches since they were shut out by Chelsea last April.
Before Forest's refereeing rage at the weekend, Everton were left to lambast a contentious call in October's 2-0 Anfield loss to Liverpool - where Ibrahima Konate controversially escaped a sending-off - and the Toffees have now failed to score in each of their last four games against their noisy neighbours.
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Everton's success over Nottingham Forest was overshadowed on the Toffees' side by a distressing head injury to Beto, who received oxygen as he was stretchered off the field in added time, although he had enough strength to give a thumbs-up to the applauding crowd.
Dyche has said that the initial signs are positive, but Beto is guaranteed to miss the derby alongside Lewis Dobbin (ankle), Dele Alli (groin) and Nathan Patterson, whose thigh injury is expected to scupper his chances of representing Scotland at Euro 2024.
Seamus Coleman is still absent due to his groin niggle, but Jarrad Branthwaite and Dominic Calvert-Lewin were both fit to face Forest from the start at the weekend after shaking off their own concerns; the former did pick up a slight knock but is looking good to reprise his role here.
Meanwhile, Liverpool remain without Joel Matip (knee), Ben Doak (knee), Thiago Alcantara (muscle) and Conor Bradley (ankle), and Klopp revealed on Tuesday that Fulham scorer Jota - statistically the Reds' most clinical finisher - has picked up a hip issue and will be out for the next two weeks.
Stefan Bajcetic was again absent from the matchday squad on Sunday as he regains match fitness after a calf concern, although his absence may have been tactical from Klopp, who had the luxury of selecting a brand-new midfield for the win over Fulham; the Spaniard has since featured for the Under-21s.
As well as chopping and changing his engine room, Klopp also demoted Mohamed Salah to the bench in West London, but the 31-year-old will surely make an immediate return to the XI for derby day as Jota begins his recovery.
Everton possible starting lineup:
Pickford; Young, Tarkowski, Branthwaite, Mykolenko; Harrison, Onana, Gueye, McNeil; Doucoure; Calvert-Lewin
Liverpool possible starting lineup:
Alisson; Alexander-Arnold, Konate, Van Dijk, Robertson; Szoboszlai, Endo, Mac Allister; Salah, Nunez, Diaz
We say: Everton 1-3 Liverpool
Everton's scoreless streak against Liverpool could come to an end against a Reds defence that has been far from watertight in 2024, but if the visitors can continue their sequence of scoring in every Premier League away game so far this term, the writing will be on the wall for Dyche's team.
Klopp's side comfortably made their way past Fulham even with some celebrated names only enjoying second-half cameos, and a return to a full-strength XI at Goodison should see the title-chasing Reds earn the bragging rights once more.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Ben Knapton
