We will have a special match in the FA Cup on Friday evening as rivals Liverpool and Everton clash in a new edition of the Merseyside Derby at Anfield Road. The two sides have met in the Premier League in December, also at Anfield Road, and the match ended 1-1 as Wayne Rooney made it all square after Mohamed Salah had opened the scoring for the Reds. Everton have not won a match at Anfield Road since 1999 and they have not beaten Liverpool anywhere since 2010.
Things have gone well for Liverpool during the busy festive period, they started with a 5-0 victory over Swansea on Boxing Day, then beat Leicester 2-1 before another 2-1 victory at Burnley on New Year's Day. The Reds are currently fourth in the Premier League, they have qualified for the first knockout round in the Champions League but they are out of the League Cup, so a good FA Cup run would be quite pleasing for the fans. Philippe Coutinho and Mohamed Salah did not play at Burnley on Monday and they might miss out again but new signing Virgil Van Dijk could make his debut.
Everton have not won any of their last four matches and lost the last two, scoring just one goal in four games. They are currently safe in the middle of the Premier League table but they can't really hope to push for a top-six finish, so advancing in the FA Cup could be their only chance for some glory this season. Aaron Lennon, Gylfi Sigurdsson, Jonjo Kenny, Phil Jagielka, Dominic Calvert-Lewin and James McCarthy were all rested on Monday so they should return to the starting line-up for the derby match. However, Maarten Stekelenburg, Ramiro Funes Mori, Leighton Baines, Ross Barkley and Seamus Coleman remain injured.
Probable line-ups:
Liverpool: Karius - Alexander-Arnold, Matip, Klavan, Robertson - Can, Milner, Wijnaldum - Lallana, Firmino, Chamberlain
Everton: Pickford - Kenny, Keane, Jagielka, Martina - Gueye, McCarthy - Lennon, Rooney, Sigurdsson - Calvert-Lewin
My prediction: Liverpool to win 2-1.
Here are the odds for the match at Bet365:
Liverpool win - 1.39
Draw - 4.50
Everton win - 7.50
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