Liverpool v Everton, Saturday 6th February

My Thoughts

Both sides go into this Merseyside derby in decent form- Liverpool unbeaten in 6 league games (not including their shambolic FA Cup exit against Reading), while Everton are unbeaten since the reverse fixture in November. However, it would be unwise to read too much into that stat- while Everton have generally looked impressive (most notably in their 2-2 draw at Arsenal, a match which even Arsene Wenger admitted they deserved the win, and in their 2-0 swatting aside of man citeh), Liverpool are still not playing with the sort of fluency and penetration that they are capable of, as away draws at Stoke and Wolves proved.

The Verdict
Betting on Liverpool this season has been something one would do only if one was mentally incapacitated, as they lurch from one dismal performance to another. While their home record this season (8-2-2, winning their last 4 in the league) is reasonably good, those two defeats came against Arsenal and Aston Villa, and on current form one could argue that Everton are of the same calibre of these two sides. While their league record at anfailed is poor (their last win there was in the 1999/2000 season) they did have the upper hand in derbies last season, drawing 1-1 twice away from home, and with new signing Landon Donovan making an instant impression, they can extend their unbeaten run against a Liverpool side still without Fernando Torres.

The Bet
I'm at work, so odds will follow tonight. Back Everton outright if you're feeling brave, otherwise I'd recommend Everton 2X. For Liverpool, Steven Gerrard will surely be relied upon to carry the team. He's gone a while without a goal, but will surely want to impress if there's a sniff of the England captaincy being available again- with Alberto Aquilani starting to take the creative pressure off him, he could be considered on the anytime scorer market