Struggling Liverpool take on relegation threatened Everton in a Merseyside derby that will have massive significance on their overall seasons.
Sean Dyche will take the Toffees to Anfield on Monday night looking for a second win. His opening game saw his charges spring a shock on league leaders Arsenal.
PREMIER LEAGUE BETTING – SPORTPESA
A typically tough defence held firm and he will be hoping for more of the same against the Reds.
But Dyche won’t be able to call on striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin, who is a major fitness doubt because of a hamstring injury.
The injury-plagued England star was substituted during Everton’s 1-0 win.
“We’re still monitoring him. It will be touch and go at best I think for the Liverpool game so we’ll just have to monitor it and hope that it settles down sooner rather than later,” Dyche told reporters on Friday.
“He’s had a couple of niggly injuries which you know, getting on top of them, getting his body to adapt, and all those things for the longer term obviously.”
Despite Everton’s win, they remain in the bottom three but Dyche’s arrival has lifted the mood at Goodison Park.
The mood is bleak across the city with Jurgen Klopp’s side picking up only one point from the last 12 available.
Liverpool are down in 10th place and completely out of the frame for Europe at this stage.
“They have been on the up for a long time and it is difficult to constantly remodel, reenergise, they have done that well but the way football works it is difficult to constant keep achieving,” he said of Liverpool’s slump.
“I wont be overthinking their form, they have good players, a very experienced group and the manager certainly is. They are in a tough spell, but it is rare that teams don’t have that at some point. That has to be parked.”
Everton goalkeeper Jordan Pickford will be on a mission to stop Mo Salah, having kept five clean sheets in his last ten league Merseyside Derbies.