Colin Harvey's pre-match report: Everton v Liverpool

Oct 20 2007 Colin Harvey

INTERNATIONAL break, early kick-off, both sides looking to bounce back from bad results last time out.

The first Merseyside derby of the season is being played under circumstances that are difficult for both Everton and Liverpool and, like these fixtures should be, it is a very tough one to call.

Everton defence v Liverpool attack

On a day like today you need your Evertonians so I would expect Alan Stubbs to be in the Everton backline. He has the derby know-how and the experience to organise his men, which will be vital against the Liverpool forwards.

With this in mind, Everton have to assume that Fernando Torres is going to play. I was in Denmark last week doing some scouting and I was surprised to hear about his injury in training for Spain that ruled him out of that game.

But he’s had a week since then to get himself ready and appears to be making good progress and I’m sure Rafael Benitez recognises the need to have a match-winner like Torres in his ranks.

At Newcastle last time out, Everton looked a bit square across the back when Obafemi Martins caught them out so they have to learn from this when Torres is about. He’s not one for receiving the ball with his back to goal, he like to get it facing the other direction of the net. His movement into these areas means it’s probably best not to man-mark him, give him a bit of space so you get a yard to track his movement.

Stubbs’s presence will also be important in the air and he will be aware of Torres’s ability in this area. The way he outjumped two defenders from standing position to get that downward header in to equalise against Tottenham shows his all-round qualities, the sort that can make such a difference today.

Should Torres not make it, Rafa will be forced into a re-think that could even lead to him playing with just one centre-forward, but I’ll deal with this when looking at the midfield areas.

Midfield

If Tim Cahill shows even a small sign of being fit then I’d be amazed not to see him on the pitch a some stage.

He can make such a difference in games with the extra attacking options he offers and if the game is tight and he’s on the bench, it’s all set up for him to be a match-winning substitute.

It’s impossible to second-guess selection for a game like this, but both managers going for a five-man midfield wouldn’t surprise me, particularly if Liverpool don’t get Torres fit in time.

This would allow the likes of Cahill, or maybe Osman and Arteta, to support a lone front man for Everton, and Steven Gerrard and Yossi Benayoun likewise for Liverpool.

Behind them, the likes of Mascherano, Neville and Carsley can battle it out for possession and ensure that neither side is left too wide open by giving the marauding midfielders the freedom to attack.

After all, derbies aren’t designed to be fast-flowing open games so a bit of caution in the middle could be the order of the day.

Where Liverpool could benefit here, however, is from the fact that they have more game-breakers, especially in wider areas. Pennant, Babel and Benayoun are direct attackers who take players on, whereas Everton tend to rely on the artistry of Arteta for their attacking thrust from the middle areas.

This is another reason why Everton’s ball-winners will be so important, they need to stop Liverpool getting the possession to supply the wide men because this is one outlet where they have significantly more strength than their hosts.

Everton attack v Liverpool defence

Any forward with the tiniest amount of pace must have watched Robbie Keane’s two goals at Anfield a fortnight ago and been drooling at the amount of space he got to chase those flick-ons.

Which is encouraging for Everton in a way, but could work against them for two reasons. Firstly, Andrew Johnson won’t be around to exploit those gaps and secondly, Liverpool will have learnt form the errors that led to Keane’s goals.

The vulnerability Sami Hyypia showed in the air in that day could persuade David Moyes to get a physical presence like Victor Anichebe up there to win those headers with James McFadden looking to zip in and capitalise. That’s one option selection-wise.

But the problem Jamie Carragher had last time was that neither he, nor his covering full-backs on both sides, were ready for Sami to lose those aerial duels. So Carragher was slow to react and Finnan and Arbeloa both took too long in getting across to cover him and Keane had two simple chances to put away. Today they will be ready and expecting any route one stuff to get through to them so will be determined not to make the same errors again and far more organised and alert in the process.

While it has to be remembered that those Keane goals were the first Liverpool had conceded in the league in open play, at least it showed that they can crack if enough pressure is put on them.

This is where Yakubu has to come to the fore. he needs to demand the ball and have a go at them when he gets it. He has struggled to convince he’s worth the record transfer fee so far so give Carragher and Hyypia a lunchtime full of problems and all will be forgiven.

Dangermen

FERNANDO TORRES – He has to play if he’s fit because even in the short time he’s been at Anfield he’s shown he has the air of a big-game player.

YAKUBU – We know he can score goals it’s just that he tends to score them in clusters. So there’s no better time for him to start showing what he can do than in the Merseyside derby. That would really win the fans round.

Overall verdict

My head says a draw but my heart says Everton. I expect it to be a lot closer than last year’s 3-0 but with home advantage I can see them sneaking it by the odd goal.

Colin Harvey was talking to NICK SMITH