I’VE made no secret of the fact that playing the Merseyside on a Monday night is a crazy idea – and you can bet that Liverpool aren’t too chuffed about it either after the weekend.

They’ve had to sit shuffling uneasily for two days since watching Manchester United overtake them at the top, and they could do with a victory tonight after Chelsea, Arsenal and Aston Villa also picked up three points at the weekend.

But if Everton had a little smile to themselves when their Merseyside rivals were knocked off the top in Saturday, they will be partying through the night if they can keep them firmly stuck in second place tonight.

Blanket coverage

IT’S gong to be very crowded at Anfield tonight – and that’s just in the middle of the park. I would be amazed if it was anything other than five against five in there and that will reflect how tight I feel the game is going to be.

Everton really have no choice but to go with a five-man midfield given their current shortage of forwards but I’m sure David Moyes would gave seen this as the best way to go anyway. Get as many bodies in there as possible, starve Liverpool of possession, close in on Steven Gerrard.

That’s the way to limit Liverpool, and to that end I can’t see Rafael Benitez opting for anything other than a 4-5-1 formation himself. Knowing how Everton will attempt to make the midfield congested, there would be no point having four of them toiling away in the middle while two strikers are stranded up front getting no service.

Being able to push Gerrard on gives Benitez the luxury of being able to play a lone striker but it will also be important to get Albert Riera on the ball as much as possible.

He is likely to be the only natural winger on the field tonight and therefore the best outlet for providing some relief from the intense pressure of those central areas.

Torres up top

I DO feel that in a 4-5-1 formation Fernando Torres will have to be the striker. I know he hasn’t started a game since coming back form injury but this is the Merseyside derby, one of his favourite fixtures – so stick him up there.

There might not be many opportunities in this game and however many Everton create, they won’t have a natural goalscorer to put them away.

But from Liverpool’s point of view, if you get three or four chances, who do you want them to fall to?