Born in the south east of Ireland, Simon put his life-long love of football to good use when he started a successful independent blog in 2010. That opened up an alternative route to a career in journalism, and having had work published across a number of sites and publications, Simon joined the staff at Spotlight Sports Group in 2018.
Liverpool and Everton collide in an FA Cup Merseyside Derby at Anfield this weekend, and with a place in the next round of the competition supplementing the usual local bragging rights on offer, the city is vibrating with excitement ahead of Sunday’s clash between red and blue.
The geographical rivals last met as recently as December 4th on what was an evening to forget for Everton who were torn asunder by a ruthlessly efficient Liverpool side that eventually ran up a humiliating 5-2 final scoreline at Anfield.
That hammering pushed Liverpool’s Merseyside unbeaten run to a record 20-matches, and while the Reds are huge favourites to extend that sequence further this weekend, Everton will hope to harness some of the FA Cup’s famous unpredictability to their advantage to reverse the trend on Sunday.
Ahead of the action, we’ve put together a list of Merseyside Derby betting specials that we think are well worthy of your time. Check them out below.
Looking for more FREE Liverpool vs Everton predictions? Check out our detailed match preview to read our expert’s betting tips for Sunday’s game.
Under 15.5 total Liverpool shots
While Liverpool continue to pile up the Premier League points and progress steadily through other competitions, their attacking output has been uncharacteristically modest by their own lofty standards of late.
The Reds racked up 19 attempts on goal in their mid-week win over Sheffield United, though that was just the second time in their last seven outings at Anfield where Liverpool hit 15 or more shots in a game.
Efficiency has been the name of the game for Jurgen Klopp’s men – and Everton bore the brunt of that clinical edge when they were battered 5-2 at Anfield last month, in a contest where the home team hit just 11 shots in total.
Liverpool also hit two or fewer goals in five of their last tests in front of the Kop, though their precision finishing means that their winning power is rarely diminished.
With that aforementioned statistical attempts pattern well established; we think the Liverpool to have under 15.5 shots on Sunday market looks well priced.
Andrew Robertson under 63.5 passes
Jurgen Klopp is expected to shuffle his pack a little for Sunday’s Merseyside Derby, though the ever reliable and impactful Andrew Robertson is almost certain to reprise his role at left back for the Reds.
Like his defensive counterpart on the other flank Trent Alexander-Arnold, Robertson is a key component in Liverpool’s passing machine, and the 25-year old ranks near the top of the club’s average passing metrics for the season so far.
Robertson has averaged 66.1 passes per 90 minutes for Liverpool so far this term in the Premier League, though the Scottish international’s distribution figures tend to dip in some of the Reds’ tougher matches.
The former Hull star played just 50 passes against Wolves, 41 against Chelsea, 41 versus Man City, and only 36 when he lined up against Everton at Anfield in December, and those stats suggest we should expect Robertson’s passes tally to drop below his average for the season again this weekend.
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Richarlison over 1.5 shots
Richarlison was one of few Everton players to come out of their Anfield mauling with any credit last month.
The versatile Brazilian notched one of the Toffees’ two consolation goals in the first period, and the 22-year old tested Liverpool’s rearguard with three attempts on goal in total during the 90 minutes overall.
The rapid forward also hit over 1.5 attempts in March’s Merseyside Derby, despite coming off the bench in the second half as a substitute.
Richarlison sits in top stop at Everton for average attempts on goal per game this term (2.4), and we think the former Watford attacker has the skill-set to beat our targeted shots total on Sunday.
Liverpool to score in the first half
Liverpool battered home four first half goals when they put Everton to the sword in last month’s merciless Merseyside massacre, and we’re tipping the Reds to get off the mark in the first 45 again on Sunday.
Jurgen Klopp’s charges have scored more first half goals (27) than any other Premier League club this season, and Liverpool bagged a goal before the half time whistle in 100% of their last seven domestic matches at Anfield.
Backed by a vocal home support on Sunday, we expect Liverpool to come out of the traps quickly at Anfield again this weekend, making them well priced at the odds quoted to hit the net inside 45 minutes.
Over 18.5 away team tackles
In their (futile) attempts to stem the Red tide at Anfield in early December, Everton’s players put in a huge amount of tackles at the home of their traditional rivals.
The Toffees players tackled their opponents a bone-bruising 32 times in total during their 5-2 dismantling in front of the Kop, though just 19 of their challenges were successful.
With intensity levels expected to be sky high, Sunday’s derby promises to be a combative battle for inches again. Everton’s defensive workload will undoubtedly be heavy, and we think the Blues will tackle their way past our targeted figure with relative comfort.
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