Live match preview – Everton v Liverpool 17/10/2020

Leon Osman was a member of the last Everton team to win the Merseyside Derby this Saturday exactly 10 years ago.

CeeLo Green topped the UK charts with ‘Forget You’, and it’s been an unforgettable decade for the blue half of Merseyside when it comes to innovating with their hated neighbors.

Everton put Liverpool in second place in the Premier League when goals from Tim Cahill and Mikel Arteta closed the 214th derby in the same week that their rivals welcomed their new owners.

Seamus Coleman is the only survivor of the team that won 2-0 that day, but very little has remained the same since those days under David Moyes at Goodison Park. It’s been a turbulent 10 years for Everton, but after scooping maximum points in their first four league games this season, the tide is turning.

Before the clash on the weekend Sky Sports‘ Ben Grounds met with former midfielder Leon Osman to find out how Carlo Ancelotti brought the feel-good factor back and how the 10 year old hoodoo can finally end …

Everton 2-0 Liverpool – 17. October 2010

“We were together under David Moyes for so long that we had good and bad spells,” said Osman Sky Sports. “They were mostly good spells, but there were times when we had tough runs and we didn’t start the season very well. Both teams were in the last four, but I remember expecting to win that game.

“The derby feeling that Liverpool had passed 10 years without losing in any kind of derby was simply unknown at the time and we never expected it. It might be a season or two since we won one, but we went in there thinking we could get away with the win.

“It was our day, we scored good goals and deserved the win. It’s pretty scary to end this game and then say that we wouldn’t win another derby for 10 years. ”

“It’s crazy to think it’s been 10 years since we beat them. Hopefully it is a good omen if we fall exactly 10 years into the day and we can leave behind us on Saturday to win a derby. ”

How Everton has improved

“Carlo arrived around Christmas time last year after Duncan Ferguson brought back confidence while serving as the janitor-manager and things were going on the right track. The team won games and improved after being pretty poor under Marco Silva.

“Slowly but surely you could see him turning things around. The suspension didn’t help the team’s dynamism … they struggled to really get going towards the end of last season. But the level of optimism among the fans and so on. The appearance at the beginning of this season wasn’t as high as in the squad.

“As captain, Seamus Coleman wanted to make sure that all players understood the club’s history and knew exactly what it meant to play for Everton. But you also need a bit of self-confidence and trust in the squad, and that is exactly the obligation. ”Have done.

“James Rodriguez, Allan and Abdoulaye Doucoure brought real faith in the project under Carlo Ancelotti. Suddenly, those who were there before weren’t just stepping up their game to play by their side. The players see the direction the club is going and that creates faith.

“I think that was all set up when he first walked in. Ancelotti used the building blocks in his first six months. He made sure the players knew what was expected of them and he thought of the system that he wanted.

“It just took a transfer window to find the right parts for the way Everton should play. He has selected some fantastic players who will help move the club forward. ”

New signings have raised the standards

“There’s better depth now, but only because the standards have been raised. The teams that played against Salford and Fleetwood were pretty much our first team last season, but the extra quality Carlo brought in means that is no longer the case. ”

“But last season we didn’t see the best of Fabian Delph or Gylfi Sigurdsson. People were starting to wonder if Tom Davies had room for improvement, but bringing quality to the roster raised everyone’s standards. ”

“The player who benefited the most from James’ arrival was Sigurdsson. He’s been great in all of the games I’ve seen. He has a smart player in James to pass on, and if you are his gamer type, most of his strength is in his head.

“He’s such a quick thinker and you need similar types of players around you to understand how you’re going to play and I think he benefited hugely from his arrival.

“It filtered through the entire squad because everyone knows that their level has to be high in every game, otherwise they’ll be eliminated from the team. Davies joined the team last week, played very well and finished the game as a right-back, “without any loss of quality.

Calvert-Lewin has found a killer instinct

“Lockdown and Project Restart affected players and teams in different ways, and Dominic seemed to be finding it difficult to get back on track towards the end of last season, but he worked hard in the short time leading up to the new campaign.

“Including the preseason, his 45 minutes at Fleetwood and the recent run-out for England against Belgium are the only games in which he didn’t score.”

“He continues to face the challenges that lie ahead and his rise has been fantastic. He has all the qualities you would want in a striker. He can cover the distance quickly, he’s strong and he has an incredible jump. He has a great intelligence and before he just had to be ruthless in front of the gate.

“He had to find this desire to score more than 20 goals a season and have goals to achieve in his own head. I think Dominic from 18 months ago was just delighted to be on the pitch, but now he’s taking it over. ”The coat of not just being Everton’s number 9 but now seeing himself as the guy who scores the most in this team must achieve.

“It’s been a great journey to watch him develop and, as an Evertonian, I hope it’s just the beginning.”

The unique quality of James Rodriguez

“James Rodriguez is a unique talent and I really enjoyed watching him. The vision he has is incredible … some players have great technique and some have great vision. Some are great at making passes, but he manages to combine all of them very well quickly in his head.

“He brings out what he sees, and what I liked best is that there was no sense of arrogance going into a club that is trying to rebuild.

“He played for Real Madrid and Bayern Munich and there have been times in clubs where the players have felt too good to be at a lower level. This man certainly doesn’t have it. James loved being part of the team and. ”You can tell by the way the team scores goals together.

“There is real meaning and there is real joy in each other’s goals and achievements. He obviously has skills, but he already seems like a really important character in the locker room who bought his way into the project.

How Liverpool can be beaten

“The team that defends the best will win the game. Both teams have incredible skills going forward – Everton scores at will and Liverpool always had the ability to score at any point in a game. ”

“But both teams have shown that they can improve defensively. Everton beat West Brom 5-2 and Brighton 4-2. So there is still a possibility of tightening. Liverpool have just conceded seven goals, so any team that is better defensively wins the game. ”

“Liverpool full-backs like to go wide, so Everton must try to take advantage of this in the transition. It could be a game of cat and mouse tactics. Are you trying to get behind the full-backs? ”When do they go up?

“It depends on how brave Everton is to keep players in these broad areas that Trent Alexander-Arnold and Andrew Robertson give food for thought.

What would derby success mean?

“In recent years there have been derbies where we felt we had good chances, where you are a little more optimistic than others, but we couldn’t have started this season better.”

“We won four league games and three cup games on the run, and we won top-class players who influence the games at both ends of the field. We signed players with real magic, so it’s time to be optimistic. ”

“Liverpool showed last week that they are fallible after being beaten 7-2 away to Aston Villa. So why not believe that we can win? ”

“Beating them would be massive for the belief it would bring to anyone associated with the club. For people like Allan and James Rodriguez, it might not make much of a difference to them.

“But for the players who have lost a number of Merseyside derbies it has become a weight around the neck so it would create so much confidence.”

“It would also underline that those first seven games were no accident and that these players are capable of it. This is a top-class team that is moving in the right direction and everything is achievable. ”

How do you follow?

Follow Everton v Liverpool this Saturday on our dedicated Live Match blog from 11:15 am. Kick-off is at 12.30 p.m. Highlights will also be published on the Sky Sports digital platforms and the Sky Sports Soccer YouTube channel shortly after the final whistle.