Abdoulaye Doucoure #16 of Everton F.C. goes past Rodrigo Gomes #19 of Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. during the Premier League match between Everton and Wolverhampton Wanderers at Goodison Park in Liverpool, England, on December 4, 2024. (Photo by MI News/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Abdoulaye Doucoure impressed as Everton beat Wolves in midweek
Everton take on Liverpool this afternoon in what is the final-ever Goodison Park league derby. And there is a lot at stake.
While the Blues beat Wolves 4-0 at home on Wednesday, they are still looking over their shoulder at the teams below them. And any fears of being dragged into a relegation scrap are exasperated by the fact that the visit of table-topping Liverpool is followed by matches against Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester City, who are the other teams in the Premier League top four.
So how does Everton manager Sean Dyche line-up against the Reds? Stick with the same team that brushed Wolves aside or make changes?
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Our Blues reporters Joe Thomas and Chris Beesley have their say...
Joe Thomas
Here we go, the big one. That win in midweek was so important for so many reasons, none more so than the confidence boost it provides for this match. Those three points have opened up a gap to the bottom three and provided some respite to the pressure that was threatening to overwhelm the club.
It also frees everyone up to have a good go at this game - because Everton need to try and do just that, replicate their approach to last season's home derby. The most satisfying part of that win was how emphatic it was. The Blues were the better side, they bossed Liverpool and deserved the three points. Idrissa Gueye was immense.
To challenge the Reds again, I think Everton are best off sticking to what they seem most comfortable with under Dyche and that is with Abdoulaye Doucoure in the central role he occupied against Wolverhampton Wanderers. The physicality and the discipline he provides in that position is key considering the Blues don't seem to be capable of playing a creative figure there without sacrificing too much defensively.
I would have Iliman Ndiaye on the right of the midfield not because I thought he did particularly well there on Wednesday but because Andy Robertson has given away a few silly fouls in recent weeks and Ndiaye could get some joy running against him.
If Everton cannot play their way into Liverpool's box then, as last season and Wednesday showed, set-pieces could be the best route.
I was really excited by Armando Broja's cameo and I think he could trouble Liverpool, but Dominic Calvert-Lewin was very good in the week and he starts again for me.
My team (4-5-1): Pickford, Young, Tarkowski, Branthwaite, Mykolenko; Ndiaye, Mangala, Doucoure, Gueye, McNeil; Calvert-Lewin.
Chris Beesley
After 130 years of Merseyside derby combat, as we approach the last Premier League clash between Everton and Liverpool at Goodison Park, the Blues and Reds are playing the top flight equivalent of "next goal wins."
Never mind Sean Dyche's men's attempts to try and put some extra space between themselves and the relegation zone or Arne Slot's table toppers looking to strengthen the grip on their title tilt, it's much bigger than that. Everton and Liverpool are actually deadlocked on 41 victories apiece at Goodison Park, so unless they're drawn to play each other there in the FA Cup later this term, this fixture is the opportunity of more than a lifetime, and for Evertonians it would be ignominious to face the prospect of their neighbours from across Stanley Park winning more derbies at 'The Grand Old Lady' than themselves ahead of the move to their new stadium on the Mersey waterfront next season.
The weather promises to be wild on Saturday afternoon and with 65-mile-per-hour gusts forecast, as Gerard Deulofeu would say, it could be: "very, very wind." That could prove a leveller, as could Everton and their loyal but long suffering supporters making this an emotional encounter... it's time for one last big push in this fixture.
It's not a case of tactics going out of the window, like that elusive derby formbook which has never been a saying that had much worth anyway, as the hosts need to keep their discipline and shape, but there must be a huge incentive for them here to rewards their passionate fanbase.
Iliman Ndiaye seemed to be finding his feet on the right-wing in the 4-0 thrashing of Wolverhampton Wanderers on Wednesday night but I'd keep him there because he's too good to leave out and the balance of the side seemed better.
Dyche doesn't seem to think that either he or Dwight McNeil are natural Premier League number 10s and while Abdoulaye Doucoure isn't in the conventional sense, he's the best at providing the manager with what he wants in the role while neither Jesper Lindstrom or Jack Harrison have convinced on the team's starboard side throughout the campaign.
Never mind Dominic Calvert-Lewin missing out on a brace against Wolves as Craig Dawson beat him to the punch twice for a couple of oggies, Harrison squandered a couple of sitters in the final moments.
My team (4-5-1): Pickford; Young, Tarkowski, Branthwaite Mykolenko, Ndiaye, Gueye, Mangala, Doucoure, McNeil; Calvert-Lewin.