Everton meet Liverpool in one of most eagerly awaited derbies in years

Saturday sees some top quality Premier League matches. The quadruple header features many top sides in action. Chelsea host Southampton at 16:00 CET, Man City play Arsenal at 18:30 CET and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's Man Utd travel to Newcastle in the final match of the day, but potentially the biggest match up sees Everton face Liverpool in the Merseyside derby at 13:30 CET.

Most would have expected the Reds to be above their city neighbours at this early stage of the season, especially after the impressive campaign Jurgen Klopp's side had back in 2019/20. However, Carlo Ancelotti's Everton are on fire this season. The signing of James Rodriguez plus the tremendous goalscoring form of Dominic Calvert-Lewin have made the Toffees into a formidable force this term. 

The Colombian is a very good corner kick taker and Liverpool will have to be on their guard at set pieces from the home side. In the 5-2 victory over West Brom, James Rodriguez and Dominic Calvert-Lewin combined to score and so the home side have shown what they are capable of. According to the corner stats published on Footystats, Everton get an average of 11.5 corners per game. That is the same as Leeds and only Burnley, Crystal Palace and Sheffield United get more. That means, James and Calvert-Lewin could have 11 chances to beat Liverpool in this fashion on Saturday. 

Liverpool's defence is much weaker than last term as shown when they were hit for seven by Aston Villa just before the international break. The runaway league champions last season will have it much tougher this time around and very few would have thought Everton would be leading the way on 12 points after four games. 

The match is set to be one of the most eagerly awaited Merseyside derbies in years. Although it is set to be played behind closed doors in a city which is under the strictest level of lockdown restrictions in England, millions of fans will be watching on television around the globe for sure.

If Everton can claim three points in this game, they will surely have to be considered serious contenders for at least the top four, if not the title itself. It should be a cracker!