Sky Sports pundit Paul Merson has delivered his prediction for Liverpool’s Merseyside derby with Everton on Sunday.
The former Arsenal great has provided good news for Reds fans, predicting a 2-0 victory that would be the perfect tonic for Jurgen Klopp’s side after their mid-week European disappointment.
“Liverpool were all over the place against PSG, which shows you how good that front three is,” Merson wrote on the Sky Sports website. “It’s a good back four at Liverpool now but they were in trouble.
“I expect them to win though, I saw Everton at Chelsea a couple of weeks ago, they were solid but Chelsea were poor and still had three good chances and if they’d taken one they would have won the game. I just can’t see Liverpool not having those kind of chances and I think they’ll take them. I don’t think Everton will have a go at Liverpool, but if they defend for 95 minutes they’re not going to keep a clean sheet.”
OPINION
It’s hard to be sure about what’s going to happen in this derby match. Liverpool really didn’t play well in the Champions League in mid-week and it’s difficult to know where they are as a team right now. Their defence is performing exceptionally well but they’re simply not getting the production from the front three that they received last season. Everton, it seems, have improved under Marco Silva and they’ve made some good additions with the likes of Yerry Mina, Lucas Digne and Andre Gomes coming in. The question is whether they’ve progressed enough to defeat the Reds in a one off game, and the answer is probably still no. Jurgen Klopp’s team likely still have too much for their Merseyside rivals, although the derby day atmosphere will give the visitors an extra lift at Anfield. 2-0 sounds about right ultimately. Liverpool are very strong at the back and the Toffees haven’t always been free-scoring this campaign. It will be a tough outing, but one in which the Reds should came out on top.
