Liverpool legend Graeme Souness has delivered his assessment of Sunday’s Merseyside derby, and outlined the Everton players the Reds need to watch out for.
The Toffees have undoubtedly made progress under new boss Marco Silva this season, however Souness feels they still aren’t ready to defeat Liverpool at Anfield.
“They’ve got to do what they’ve been doing really well. Marco Silva’s brought an organisation, there’s more energy in this Everton team,” he told Sky Sports. “There’s more individual quality – players like [Gylfi] Sigurdsson, Richarlison, Bernard – who can cause problems.
“But if you look at the way Liverpool play at home, it’s incredibly tough for Everton. Everton can’t be in any better shape, but I think it’s a step too far to try and win at Liverpool,” he finished.
OPINION
Souness is absolutely spot on in his assessment of the strides this Everton team have made. They are truly a different unit under Silva than they were with Sam Allardyce at the helm last term. Their recruitment was excellent in the summer and, like Souness says, they have game changers now like Andre Gomes, Sigurdsson and Richarlison who can undoubtedly cause this Liverpool team problems. That said, the Reds will likely be too strong at home for the Toffees. If this match were at Goodison Park then it might be a different story, but with the two teams coming out at Anfield it’s going to be hard for Silva’s team to overcome the hosts. Everton’s defence has improved but it’s going to be tough for them to overcome the myriad attacking threats that Jurgen Klopp’s side possess, while the Liverpool defence is so formidable that it’s difficult to see the Toffees breaking it down. A Liverpool victory certainly seems like the right call here.
