The new episode of the fiercest rivalry in English football is in front of us and the fact the Liverpool rivals are just two points apart at the moment should add an extra spice to the Merseyside derby. The winner is always hard to predict in these kinds of games, but you can bet your life we’ll see a lot of hard tackles and yellow cards.

Liverpool in problems

Just few weeks ago everything appeared to be going smoothly for Liverpool and the Reds were closing the gap behind their top 4 rivals and managed to win the first trophy in six years by beating Cardiff City in the Carling Cup final. However, back to back defeats to Arsenal and Sunderland proved that Kenny Dalglish’s side are still not ready to mount a serious top 4 challenge, so there are no doubts the players will be under pressure to make amends for the disappointing defeats. The game against Everton is a perfect opportunity to kick-start their season, but the Reds will have to raise their game considerably if they are to beat their arch rivals. This Liverpool side appear to be even more prone to reckless challenges and excessive force tackles than the previous ones, and when you’ve got the likes of Suarez, Bellamy, Adam, Skrtel and Gerrard in the side, that is clearly not surprising.

Steven Gerrard and Glen Johnson look set to start, whereas Jamie Carragher could return to the starting line-up, with Sebastian Coates expected to be dropped.

Amazing Everton

It’s been a while since Everton last entered the Merseyside derby played at Anfield in such good spirits, and David Moyes side are hoping to take advantage of this new found confidence and finally beat their rivals on their own ground. The Toffees have been absolutely brilliant of late, especially at their Goodison, where they beat City, Chelsea and Tottenham in their last three games, but the team have shown some improvement on the travels as well, seeing they are unbeaten in last three away games. Everton may have been outplayed by Tottenham at the weekend, but they showed a lot of character and defensive solidity to keep hold of their lead and ended up recording a very important victory. David Moyes’ men will need no special motivation for the clash with Liverpool as they always appear to be fired up to the maximum in Merseyside derbies, but they now look to be in good stead to record a rare victory at Anfield.

Nikica Jelavic should keep his place in the side, whereas Steven Pienaar returns after he was ineligible to face Tottenham.

Verdict

Merseyside derbies are always feisty affairs and you can be sure this match will not be any different. Rather than betting on the final outcome, which is extremely hard to predict, my advice is to bet on over 6 cards (red and yellow count) as hard tackles and lots of cards are things that always characterize this derby.

Our prediction: Over 6 cards

Odds: 2.70 (17/10)

Bookmaker: William Hill