Leighton Baines desperate for a derby start to help in the race for fourth place

Mar 28 2008 by Ian Doyle, Liverpool Daily Post

LEIGHTON BAINES is desperate for a starting role in the Merseyside derby which he believes can throw open the race for fourth place once again.

Everton visit Anfield on Sunday afternoon just two points adrift of neighbours Liverpool as the battle for the final Champions League qualification berth turns into the final straight.

The Goodison outfit’s disappointment at being held 1-1 at home by West Ham United last Saturday was tempered by Liverpool’s 3-0 defeat at Manchester United the following day.

Securing a first victory at Anfield since 1999 at the weekend would move Everton back above their city rivals.

And Baines said: “We’re on course to still get the fifth place but we’re all waiting for fourth.

“It’s a big game and if we can get a good result at Anfield then it’s going to be all to play for.

“We were disappointed with the draw against West Ham but at the end of the day we should take the positives and we’re a point better off than we were against Portsmouth and Aston Villa and the result went for us at Old Trafford.

“It was always going to be a big game at Anfield, regardless of what happened between Manchester United and Liverpool at Old Trafford.”

Baines made his first Premier League start in six weeks against the Hammers on Saturday, and the 23-year-old is keen to remain in the side despite Joseph Yobo’s imminent return.

“I came on as a substitute in the last derby so I’d love to start this time around.

“It’s difficult here, nobody is guaranteed to play. Hopefully I’ll be starting and that would be fantastic but if not I’ll have to be ready if called upon like last time and try and come on and do a job.”

As expected, Everton will be missing Tim Cahill at Anfield with the Australian almost certainly out for the remainder of the season after aggravating an old metatarsal injury early on against West Ham.

Moyes is hopeful Andrew Johnson has recovered from the groin strain suffered at Fulham a fortnight ago, while Victor Anichebe has returned from international duty in Nigeria.

The striker scored on his debut for the country after coming on as a late substitute in the under-23 team’s 3-0 win over South Africa on Wednesday in Abuja.

The victory secured Nigeria’s place at the Olympics, and opened the possibility that Anichebe could miss much of the pre-season and the start of the new campaign with the Beijing Games held on August 8-24.

Nigeria’s Olympic team coach Samson Siasia revealed he did not start with the Everton striker because of the hot weather which affected the player before the match.

“Most of these guys from Europe had the weather problem.” said Siasia to KickOffNigeria.com. “I actually wanted to start Anichebe in the match, but when I spoke with him he said he felt there was no air (to breathe) in the stadium and it was difficult for him to breathe so I had to put him on the bench.

“I decided to put him on the bench and see how he fits in because this is the first time he was with the rest of the players. This meant that when he went in, he understood how the game was being played, and would be able to perform better.”