OPINION
Paul Merson shared that he thought Everton were a million miles behind Liverpool ahead of the two sides clashing in the Merseyside derby on Sunday.
The Sky Sports pundit even went on to explain that in his opinion only Toffees attacking midfielder Gylfi Sigurdsson would be able to get in the Reds’ current first team.
“Liverpool were given the runaround by Paris St-Germain but they will win the Merseyside derby,” wrote Merson in his column for the Daily Star.
“I watched Everton at Chelsea recently and they were very well-organised but Chelsea still had good chances to win the game.
“I don’t think Liverpool will be that kind. Losing to PSG will have dented their confidence – and at times they were given a lesson.
“But how many Everton players would get in the Liverpool team? Only Gylfi Sigurdsson for me. And that tells the story.
“Everton are a million miles behind Liverpool at the moment. Sigurdsson is the danger man for them in this game.
“He’s their best chance of getting something and his set-plays are going to be important, but I can’t see anything but a Liverpool win. They just have too many weapons.”
While Merson’s verdict on Toffees makes for dreaming read if you’re the Reds, he’s sorely mistaken as he is clearly underrating them by some margin.
The Reds may indeed win the Merseyside Derby, they should be the favourites considering they’re undefeated in the league this season, but to claim they’re million miles ahead of the Toffees is ridiculous.
Marco Silva’s side is coming together at Goodison Park and could easily finish seventh, knocking on the door of the top-six, by the time the season is all said and done.
Richarlison and Andre Gomes also look like very talented players while playing for the Toffees and you wouldn’t completely rule out the fact that either of those two players could push for a place at Anfield alongside an in-form Sigurdsson.
There’s also the fact that it’s worth noting the Toffees have several talented players such as Michael Keane, who is having a great season by all accounts, and England’s No.1 Jordan Pickford.
The latter probably would have gotten a place in the Reds’ first-team last season but would only be a player not guaranteed to be a starter at Anfield anymore due to the Reds splashing the cash on Alisson.
However he’d definitely be first-choice cover ahead of Simon Mignolet if he was at the club.
When you think of local rivals being a millions miles behind each other as it stands, you look at maybe comparing Fulham to Brentford or Newcastle United to Sunderland or perhaps even Norwich City to Ipswich Town.
You don’t think of the Toffees to Liverpool as while the Reds are pushing for the title, Silva’s side have proven they’re on the rise too and could have a notable season for them that starts seeing success regularly arrive.
So while Merson’s verdict is dreamy by all accounts for Reds fans, he is sorely mistaken as the clubs aren’t a million miles apart.
