Liverpool predicted line-up vs. Everton: Three changes as £34m man returns

Both Liverpool and Everton entered the international break in good form but points will have to be dropped somewhere this weekend when the two lock horns in the Merseyside Derby. As one of the blockbuster clashes of the Premier League calendar, fans are eagerly awaiting the fixture at Anfield.

Liverpool are currently fourth in the Premier League table, having registered just one loss so far. Jurgen Klopp and co will be hoping that last season’s struggles — which saw them miss out on Champions League football — will be far behind them, especially after their whirlwind of a summer transfer window.

Everton will also be looking to forget about last season’s nightmare, which pretty much replicated the campaign before that. Two hefty relegation battles are enough to knock the wind out of any team’s sails, but the Toffees have lifted themselves away from the bottom of the table and will be hoping to upset their bitter rivals to continue their newfound positive run.

Liverpool Team News

The injury gods have not been on Liverpool’s side lately and their latest problem could be a big one thanks to one of their biggest and longest-standing rivals, the international break. Andy Robertson was forced off during Scotland’s defeat against Spain last weekend after suffering a shoulder injury, which has put him in serious doubt for the Merseyside derby.

Fears have been rising over whether the left-back will need surgery as the club await scan results but he was recently pictured with his arm in a sling, which has sparked worries among fans. Robertson was holding a Greggs at the time though, so at least he treated himself to a top tier lunch. Let’s just hope he opted for a sausage roll or something else manageable with just one hand.

Some good news is that Klopp could have Cody Gakpo back though, as the forward has returned to training following his own injury setback. The Dutchman missed the clash against Brighton and did not travel with his country for the international fixtures either.

However, the boss could have a slight headache when it comes to selecting his front three. Diogo Jota will return from suspension and while Darwin Núñez has been in fine form for Uruguay, he claimed he had been suffering with cramp towards the end of Wednesday’s clash against Brazil. Curtis Jones remains ineligible to play due to his own red card suspension, while the derby could be too early for the return of both Thiago and Stefan Bajcetic.

Liverpool Predicted Line-up

Alisson Becker; Trent Alexander-Arnold, Joel Matip, Virgil van Dijk, Kostas Tsimikas; Alexis Mac Allister, Dominik Szoboszlai, Ryan Gravenberch; Luis Díaz, Diogo Jota, Mohamed Salah.

Everton Team

Everton earned their second win of the season last time out with a big performance in a 3-0 victory over Bournemouth. The Toffees have endured consecutive seasons battling for their survival in the Premier League but they will be hoping for a much smoother run this time round.

In terms of injuries, there are no new setbacks to report for Sean Dyche, so he will be able to deploy his strongest possible lineup on Saturday. Idrissa Gueye didn’t feature against the Cherries, as he pulled out of the warm-ups with an issue, but since appearing for Senegal this week, he is back in contention to play at club level.

Last weekend, Everton Women secured a big win over Liverpool at Anfield in the Women’s Super League, so naturally, Blues fans will be hoping for a clean sweep across the city in both divisions.

Everton Predicted Line-up

Jordan Pickford; Nathan Patterson, James Tarkowski, Jarrad Branthwaite, Vitaliy Mykolenko; Jack Harrison, James Garner, Idrissa Gana Gueye, Dwight McNeil, Abdoulaye Doucouré; Dominic Calvert-Lewin.