14 Spearing earns applause from the Liverpool fans for robbing Pienaar of the ball before releasing Downing on the left. Hibbert tackles back on the England winger.
13 Suarez is a constant livewire. He is popping up all over the pitch with very clever runs.
12 Wonderful chance for Suarez when running across the face of goal to collect Carroll's flick on. He hits a left-footed half-volley toward goal from inside the box. But Howard is equal to the effort.
11 Anichebe goes tumbling over the advertising boards in front of The Kop after a sprint and a bit of a nudge from Carragher. Anichebe does not look too happy, but he is okay.
10 Downing darts down the left and loops a cross towards Carroll. The £35million man climbs above three Everton defenders, but it is difficult to generate any power from his header and Howard can save.
9 Glorious chance from Pienaar after being set up brilliantly by Baines, who beat Kelly before nut-megging Henderson. But Pienaar skies his 10-yard finish into The Kop.
8 Liverpool have started well and Everton need to concentrate on the movement of Suarez in the early stages.
7 A brilliant block from Rodwell prevents Henderson from opening the scoring. Howard had first saved well from Gerrard, who had burst into the box from midfield. The rebound falls to Henderson and he looks set to put Liverpool in front before Rodwell slides in with a stunning and brave block.
6 A bit of a mix-up between Howard and Distin gives Liverpool a throw-in deep in the Everton half.
5 Liverpool are aiming to go long to Suarez and Carroll at every opportunity. They are aiming for quick attacks before Everton get set.
4 Everton are lining up with Anichebe wide on the left and Pienaar in the hole behind Stracqualursi.
3 Gerrard sprays a long ball from one half of the field to the other and is looking for Carroll. There is too much power on the pass and Howard can catch on the bounce.
2 Another poor cross from Henderson from the right after Suarez and Carroll had linked up nicely in the build-up. Goal-kick to Everton at the Anfield Road End.
1 Poor distribution from Howard gives Henderson the chance to cross from the right. But, looking to find Suarez, his cross is easily defended at the near post.
KICK-OFF: Liverpool get the derby going.
19.57 Here come the teams. Liverpool and Everton, led by Gerrard and Jagielka respectively, emerge from the tunnel to loud applause at Anfield.
19.56 Matches under the floodlights always take on a bit of magic and let's hope for a good one tonight. Don't forget both managers could have thoughts on the coming weekend's FA Cup quarter-finals. Thanks for all your emails and tweets. Apologies I have not been able to publish all of your comments. You can continue to drop me a line throughout the night at peter.fraser@bskyb.com or via Twitter @SkySportsPeteF.
19.53 The teams are being announced over the Anfield public address system. Huge roars for each name. Kick-off is just over five minutes away.
19.50 Dan Clevs says: "As soon as we start losing games, every Liverpool fan blames the manager... maybe it's the players who need to put in an extra 10%. Kenny has done loads for our club, he's hating us losing as much as the fans are."
19.48 Not exactly a shocking suggestion, but I think this could be a draw. Everton are in excellent form and will be full of confidence around Moyes' 10-year anniversary, which is tomorrow. Liverpool, meanwhile, have already drawn eight games at Anfield in this season's Premier League.
19.45 Are other Liverpool fans concerned Suarez will a) cause controversy tonight and/or b) join Paris Saint Germain in the summer? Would it be the end of the world if he did leave? Suarez's chance conversion rate in this season's Premier League is 7.7 per cent.
19.43 Steve Lightfoot says: "King Kenny has a lot to be worried about, right now the fans seem to be turning against him & with a top-four finish a distant memory Liverpool could find themselves needing to win a cup double. I fear a mid-table finish which would probably see King Kenny dethroned & King Luis on his way to Paris."
19.41 Mark Burgess says: "Being a Liverpool fan, I have the utmost respect for King Kenny but he just isn't good enough for the job!"
19.39 For those who came in late. Captain Gerrard returns to the Liverpool starting line-up for the 217th Merseyside derby. Carroll starts up front in place of Craig Bellamy while Carragher also features as the Reds seek to avoid a fourth successive Premier League loss. Phil Jagielka and Jack Rodwell make their first starts since January for in-form Everton, who make six changes including leaving Nikica Jelavic - match-winner against Tottenham on Saturday - on the bench.
19.36 If you fancy a flutter, Sky Bet have been in contact. The bookies say: "Liverpool head into this encounter looking for a win (8/11) to extend their lead over their bitter rivals. A win for the Toffees (21/5) will move them above Dalglish's men in the table, with the draw available at 5/2. This fixture has seen more red cards (20) than any other fixture in Premier League history, so it may be worth backing a player to be dismissed at 7/4."
19.35 Keith Abbott says: "Would settle for a drawer, but as Wenger states, Suarez is a diver as he proved to get Rodwell sent off last time, so I am a bit nervous."
19.34 Steven Gerrard will be making 400th Premier League appearance tonight. He is only the fifth player to achieve that landmark for a single club.
19.33 Hugh Daniels says: "Moysey is playing a better defensive side than he had at Spurs - this is set up for trench warfare in Everton's box!"
19.31 Keith Jolley says: "Moyes has only stopped Everton from relegation every year. Not challenged for anything, merely steadying the ship."
19.30 Indeed, Cahill does have a good record against Liverpool. The Australian has scored in three Premier League games at Anfield, only Alan Shearer (4), Andy Cole (7) and Frank Lampard (4) have netted here in more matches.
19.29 Martha Banks says: "Why change a winning team?? Anyway I think Everton will sneak it 2 - 1 - Stracqualursi and Cahill getting his derby goal, with Carroll getting the one for Liverpool."
19.27 Dirk Kuyt will be disappointed to be on Liverpool's bench. He has a good pedigree in the derby and only a missed penalty in the meeting earlier this season prevented him from scoring in his fourth successive game against Everton. For Everton, why do you think Moyes has made so many changes (six) to the side which beat Tottenham?
19.24 Thanks for all your thoughts and opinions so far. Interesting views from Phil Yisrael, who suggests Andre Villas-Boas would be a good replacement for Dalglish. You can continue to get in touch throughout the evening at peter.fraser@bskyb.com or via Twitter @SkySportsPeteF. I will publish a selection of the best comments.
19.22 They call this the friendly derby, but there have been 20 red cards in this fixture in the Premier League, which is more than any other pairing. Eleven of those red cards have come in the last 14 meetings between the two sides.
19.20 Phil Yisrael says: "Sack Kenny at the end of the season. He was asked to get the team a Champions League place - he will fail. Tactically, he's behind a lot of managers. Forget big spending big on players in the summer - splash the cash on a top-drawer manager. AVB would suit Liverpool because there are much less big egos than at Chelsea and the rebuilding is already well under way."
19.18 Tyler Mitchell says: "I think that Everton will sneak it 2-1 with Jelavic and Cahill scoring."
19.18 Iain Kemble says: Final score will be Liverpool 3 Everton 2. Two goals by Stracqualursi for Everton, while Liverpool's goals will come from Skrtel and Kuyt (2)."
19.17 John Flynn says: "I think Moyes has done an incredible job. It would be quite the b-day present to win tonight. I fear he will be poached at the end of this season."
19.16 Conor Kim says: "I hope Liverpool win tonight then we hopefully can escape this poor run of form and try and push for CL spots the only thing I worry about is Kenny as he has been so stubborn about the team and cannot accept his failings playing well is one thing but winning is a whole different story."
19.14 Keith Hitchcock says: "Hoping for a win tonight but Kenny has got to play his best players. Maxi knows how to score, not like the rest of them. This will be a tough game."
19.11 Everton team: Howard, Hibbert, Jagielka, Distin, Baines, Fellaini, Rodwell, Pienaar, Coleman, Stracqualursi, Anichebe. Subs: Mucha, Heitinga, Jelavic, Drenthe, Cahill, Neville, Osman.
19.07 Liverpool team: Reina, Kelly, Enrique, Skrtel, Carragher, Spearing, Gerrard, Henderson, Downing, Suarez, Carroll. Subs: Doni, Shelvey, Maxi, Flanagan, Kuyt, Adam, Coates.
19.05 Everton can again take hope from Liverpool's recent slump. The Carling Cup winners have lost to Manchester United, Arsenal and Sunderland in successive matches. Are some calls for Dalglish's sacking harshly knee-jerk?
19.01 But away from the derby, how impressive a job has Moyes performed in his time at Everton. Plaudits have been pouring in from the football world regarding his 10 years as boss at Goodison Park. But no major trophies. How do you rate his achievements?
18.58 Everton, though, cannot disguise the fact they have a very poor record in the Merseyside derby over recent years. They have won just one of the last 10 meetings in the Premier League (W1 D3 L6).
18.54 A win tonight would be Everton's first against their bitter enemies at Anfield since 1999 and would lift them above their neighbours from across Stanley Park in the league. But Moyes' team are enjoying a typically strong second-half of the season and have not lost in any competition for nine matches. An upset could be on the cards.
18.51 As we await the line-ups, feel free to get in touch with your predictions, thoughts on David Moyes' 10-year anniversary as Everton manager, and opinion on some of the growing criticism of Liverpool manager Kenny Dalglish. You can get in touch at peter.fraser@bskyb.com or via Twitter @SkySportsPeteF.
18.49 Hello and welcome to our live and interactive coverage of the Merseyside derby between Liverpool and Everton on what is set to be a typically firecracker night at Anfield. Team news to follow.
This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service — if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read the FAQ at fivefilters.org/content-only/faq.php#publishers. Five Filters recommends: Donate to Wikileaks.
0 comments:
Post a Comment