European club football action returns this weekend after the international break. Premier League action opens with a potential thriller between Merseyside rivals Everton and Liverpool at Goodison Park.
Both the Toffees and the Reds have enjoyed excellent starts to the 2020-21 season, with Carlo Ancelotti’s tutoured Everton side feeling they could challenge Jurgen Klopp’s champions in this clash and perhaps pull off a first league win over their cross-town rivals since October 2010.
Liverpool have been handed a health boost as Sadio Mane and Thiago Alcantara are back in training after quarantining for contacting coronavirus.
Liverpool are coming off of a massive defeat to Aston Villa, while their crosstown rivals are sitting at the top of the table.
The return of Mane and Alcantara should provide a significant boost for Liverpool. Diogo Jota did a solid job filling in for Mane, but he does not have the same psychic connection with his strike partners Roberto Firmino and Mohamed Salah just yet, Mane will likely slot back into his starting role.
“Everton is a massive club, the reality hit with a lot of the players that we’ve got a world class manager and, as players, if we’re not delivering then they can bring someone else in who can do a job,” said defender Michael Keane.
Everton go into the game on a remarkable run of four successive victories in the Premier League, a tally which jumps up to seven when you throw in their progress in the Carabao Cup.
Reds boss, Jurgen Klopp, will be plotting changes to his line-up after studying what he now calls a “useful” defeat Liverpool will be able to welcome back the likes of Jordan Henderson, Thiago Alcantara and Sadio Mane after they all missed the trip to Villa Park.
Goalkeeper Alisson is still not fit though, meaning the under-fire Adrian will continue in goal.
The match falls on the 10th anniversary of Everton’s last win in a Merseyside derby, and although Owen believes the new-look Blues will run Liverpool close, he thinks their sorry set of results in the fixture will continue.
“This is the most anticipated Merseyside Derby in many a year,” says Owen in his blog for BetVictor.
“Who would’ve predicted out of the two sides that it would be Everton that go into the match with a 100% record?
“They have had some start, while Liverpool have had two weeks to lick their wounds after their 7-2 loss to Aston Villa. Will we see reaction? I think so.
“This could be a classic, and I’m taking the Reds to edge it in a close run match.”
Goodison title-winner Adrian Heath believes it’s now or never for Everton to show Liverpool that they are finally a team to take seriously.
The blue half of Merseyside are in dreamland with Everton sitting on top of the Premier league table after a faultless start to the new season.
And with the countdown on to Saturday’s crunch date with the arch-enemy, Everton fans are believing derby glory is on the horizon.
The fixture will mark exactly 10 years to the day since Everton, then managed by David Moyes, last beat Liverpool, with goals from Tim Cahill and Mikel Arteta.
Since then, Everton have failed to taste derby glory in 22 attempts.
“If this group of players want to show Evertonians they’re a team with a different mind-set to what’s gone before, then this is the game to do it,” said Heath. “You can lose a derby game at any time – I lost a few in my early days at Everton – but there is a way to lose and I think a couple have been really tame.
“Look at the FA Cup earlier this year, Liverpool virtually had their reserves out and still won. So this is a big game for many reasons.
“Ancelotti has shown that if he’s got the team he can win games,” Heath said. “I always thought this was going to be one of the most important transfer windows in Everton’s history if they got it right.
“And it’s not just that they’ve won the games, it’s the quality of the football and movement that’s impressed me. It’s been outstanding.
“James Rodriguez was always going to bring quality, Allan and Doucoure know how to play their positions in midfield, and Dominic Calvert-Lewin is scoring goals for fun – it looks a potent combination.
“Now they have to maintain that start. If they can keep their core of top players fit and get Richarlison scoring 15 goals, who knows where they could finish?
In the last 30 years, Liverpool have gone into Merseyside derbies as favourites, so it is ironic that now they are finally crossing Stanley Park as Premier League champions they are having to deal with Everton getting most of the pre-match attention.
We know enough about Carlo Ancelotti’s side’s perfect start, not just four league wins out of four but seven victories out of seven in all competitions. We know about Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s goals, James Rodríguez’s unlikely rehabilitation and Jordan Pickford’s erratic displays. But what can be expected of Liverpool based on their season so far?
Saturday features another mouth-watering clash with the meeting of Manchester City and Arsenal in the early-evening kick-off. Once again, Gunners manager Mikel Arteta will pit his wits against former boss Pep Guardiola and look to continue his growth as a leader of a major club.
Saturday features another mouth-watering clash with the meeting of Manchester City and Arsenal in the early-evening kick-off. Once again, Gunners manager Mikel Arteta will pit his wits against former boss Pep Guardiola and look to continue his growth as a leader of a major club.
One of the top matches to look out for in LaLiga sees Barcelona head to the Coliseum Alfonso Perez to take on Getafe also on Saturday 17, October, a meeting of two teams which have made promising starts to the season and will be looking to keep up their momentum.
In head-to-head terms, Getafe have not beaten Barcelona in a league clash since way back in 2011, but manager Jose Bordalas will feel the Catalans have plenty of weaknesses for his side to exploit, while a defence led by Togolese Djene Dakonam has the resilience to withstand their opponent’s attack.
Serie A’s weekend action opens with a cracker between Napoli and Atalanta at Stadio San Paulo on the afternoon of Saturday. The meeting of two teams with ambitions of challenging for the Scudetto in 2020-21.
They’re also highly entertaining, attack-minded teams: the Neapolitans have pace and power in abundance, especially in the shape of Nigerian striker Victor Osimhen, while La Dea have long been one of the most stylish and aggressive outfits in Europe, dictated by the genius of Papu Gomez in midfield.
Saturday’s early-evening slot also features the Derby della Madonnina between Internazionale and AC Milan.
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