Everton v Liverpool Preview: Sturridge expected to chisel a share of the Everton v Liverpool spoils
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INFOGRAPHIC – Preview of Everton v Liverpool Sunday 4th October 2015
While morale will likely be at very different levels in the Everton and Liverpool camps ahead of the latest edition of the Merseyside derby, both sides have their crosses to bear.
The Toffees have lost as few games as any side in the Premier League at present and sit one point off the Champions League places in fifth.
Yet Roberto Martinez’s player pool has been diluted by numerous injuries and suspensions to key players, meaning he has seldom had recourse to his best team.
On the other side of Stanley Park, there is less upside, with the media ramping up the pressure on Brendan Rodgers after another summer of big spending has yielded precious little in terms of improvement on the pitch.
However, the match-winning return of Daniel Sturridge against Aston Villa will offer Rodgers and Liverpool a grain of hope on their trip into (friendly) enemy territory.
Win, lose or draw?
Everton have won three of their last four games in all competitions and, with their opponents wracked by unflinching media inquisition, will sense a chance to record a rare victory in the fixture.
The hosts last bested Liverpool 11 meetings back, when the red half of Merseyside were in the midst of Roy Hodgson’s ill-fated premiership.
Battered by Manchester United in their last road game of significance, Rodgers’ side look there for the taking.
Yet this is a derby and such games tend to exist in a bubble apart from such mundane, everyday concerns as current form.
All bar one of the last six Merseyside bragging-rights battles have ended in stalemate, with even the great Luis Suarez unable to inspire more than a single victory.
Draws have littered the ledgers of both sides in the run up to the fixture too.
Everton have drawn three of their last six outings across all competitions (at 90 minutes), while Liverpool shared the spoils in four of their last five outings.
In addition, the Toffees’ most recent brace of victories both came by a single goal, as have all three of the Reds’ wins this term.
Recommended bet: Draw @ 11/5
Under/Over
The tendency to think of home boss Martinez as an overs magnet has existed since his gung-ho-by-default Wigan days.
Everton’s first three home games have rewarded those who banked on more than three goals too, yet taking a broader view strips such a wager of dead-cert status.
In fact, ten of their last 15 home games have rewarded those who erred on the miserly side of the 2.5-strike mark.
Their Old Trafford beating aside, Liverpool’s road exploits in 2015/16 add grist to the mill, with three of their four away games yielding two goals or fewer and two of their such league ventures seeing the scorers troubled but once.
Unders were the winners on both occasions our adversaries locked horns last season too.
Recommended bet: Under 2.5 goals @ 83/100
Who’s going to score?
As mentioned previously, the return of a certain frustratingly fragile, yet upper crust frontman has been a ray of light amid all the current Liverpool soul searching.
Right on queue, it turns out that the Evertonians are Mr Sturridge’s favourite opponents, the Birmingham-born bible believer having stuffed three past them over the course of ten past career meetings.
Two goals against Aston Villa were testament to the fact that he is already sharp enough to reward his backers at Goodison Park.
Recommended bet: Sturridge to score @ 9/5
The left-field wager
No side have struck more often inside the final 15 minutes than Everton (5) in the Premier League this term, while only three teams have shipped less (2).
Recommended bet: Everton to outscore Liverpool between 75 minutes and 90 minutes @ 17/5
Everton v Liverpool – Draw @ 11/5
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Article republished courtesy of News.Bwin.com