"We might be further away from Liverpool than we have ever been at the moment,” said David Moyes leading up to the second episode of the Merseyside derby this season and, on the basis of numbers alone, this was no April Fool’s joke. With him as Everton manager, this is the biggest points gap there has ever been before a clash between the two sides.
Of course, Moyes is hardly to share the blame for this. Before his arrival, the club was close to getting dragged into a relegation battle in the final months of Sean Dyche’s lacklustre tenure. In fact, had it not been for Moyes and a nine-game unbeaten run in the league, the present 36-point gap with Liverpool could’ve well been bigger.
The Scot, who managed The Blues for over a decade in his first spell in charge from 2012-2013, said he’s found the club in a worse state than he’d left it in. "I think by the time we left here 12 years ago, I think we were much closer to Liverpool. We were competing in the same areas of the league at the time. I think at the moment it's probably the biggest gulf between the two clubs."
Prior to this season, the biggest gap between Everton and Liverpool under Moyes had been 18 points before the Merseyside derby in March 2006 and only on five occasions, the points difference had been in double figures. With Moyes in charge, Everton have actually been ahead of Liverpool in eight derbies and both sides went into this mega clash level on points in 2010/11.
Before Wednesday’s derby, Everton have trailed Liverpool by a bigger margin in the Premier League on two occasions: by 47 points in April 2022 and by 45 in June 2020. Everton also trailed Liverpool by the same 36-point margin in April last season.
For the small trip to Anfield, also under the scanner is David Moyes’ terrible record at the stadium. In 21 attempts (19 in the Premier League) across his managerial career with Everton, Man United, Sunderland, and West Ham, Moyes is yet to collect a win there. He has suffered 14 losses and has conceded 36 goals. A dozen of those games came under his first spell at Goodison Park with the Toffees losing five times and drawing on seven occasions.
"Yeah. I don't want it,” Moyes acknowledged the hoodoo in the pre-match buildup. “I want to win and I want to make sure I get rid of it if I can. Every time we go there, it presents another chance to do so. Am I sick of it? I would be lying if I said I look forward to going to it all the time because it has been such a hard place to get results. It has nothing to do with the surroundings or the pitch, they have always produced good teams. ”
Despite the ghosts of the past, Everton have reason to believe that they can secure their first Anfield win since 2021. Having only lost twice in 11 matches in Moyes’ second spell, the Toffees have picked up more points (16) than the likes of Manchester City, Manchester United, Chelsea, Aston Villa, Newcastle and Tottenham.
Their nine-game unbeaten run in the league is also the best since 2017 and if Everton players need inspiration ahead of the derby, they would be well advised to catch the highlights following James Tarkowski’s 97th-minute equaliser in the reverse fixture at Goodison Park exactly 50 days ago.
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