Merseyside Derby

Filed in archive Premier League on February 5, 2010

The Merseyside Derby is the Premier League's early kick-off this Saturday, and Rafa Benitez has made special mention of out-of-form Captain Steven Gerrard and childhood Evertonian Jamie Carragher as the key members to make or break this season's fixture at Anfield.

Both enter the game having found form for the first time in their abysmal seasons. Liverpool have ahead of them in the month of February the most crucial four weeks in their race for fourth place ahead of Man City, Spurs and Villa, while Everton find themselves creeping up on Birmingham in 8th place who have had an excellent debut season in the Premier League, having spent two years in the Championship.





David Moyes won the Premier League's Manager of the Month for January, and hopes to start the next month with a blistering win at the red end of Stanley Park. He has released that Yakubu has made a return from injury and will be in contention for a start, a move that would bring about a fascinating battle between Everton's big Nigerian centre forward and Liverpool's Greek stopper Kyrgiakos, who has found his feet at the club with a current form of 3 starts and 3 clean sheets.

Fernando Torres misses another derby but Gerrard returns, and Dirk Kuyt, who scored at Goodison Park in November after having been moved into a central attacking role, will no doubt do Torres' job tomorrow with help from Albert Riera on the left and (it's anyone's guess) either Yossi Benayoun or the new Maxi Rodriguez on the right. Rafa has apparently told his team to go on a desperate attack over the next four weeks in what could either make or ruin the club's chances of playing in the Champions League next year, so may even play Alberto Aquilani over Lucas Leiva, but it is doubtful...