Everton vs Liverpool Prediction: Mac Allister to receive Goodison card on ground’s Merseyside derby send-off

Let's do this all again, shall we? The first Merseyside derby of the 2024/25 season was supposed to take place at Goodison Park on Saturday, December 7, and yours truly wrote a lengthy prediction piece ahead of it, but Storm Darragh had other ideas, and the game was postponed due to safety concerns.

The derby has been rearranged for this Wednesday, February 12 (19:30, TNT Sports 1), and once again, I have delivered my Everton vs Liverpool predictions, supported by all the latest team news and match odds, which you can check out below.

Team News

Dominic Calvert-Lewin (muscle), Dwight McNeil, Orel Mangala (both knee), Armando Broja (ankle) and Youssef Chermiti (thigh) all missed Everton's FA Cup defeat at home to AFC Bournemouth (0-2) on Saturday, and the quintet are expected to be unavailable again in midweek.

Vitalii Mykolenko (calf) was another absentee on the weekend but the Ukraine international is back in training and in contention to feature on Wednesday.

David Moyes named a strong side against the Cherries in the cup so few, if any, changes are expected to his starting XI for the visit of Liverpool.

Recent arrival Carlos Alcaraz, who has joined the Blues on loan from Brazilian giants Flamengo, made his debut for the club at the weekend and the former Southampton midfielder will be looking to make his league bow on Wednesday.

Football Odds

Joe Gomez was forced off in the early stages of Liverpool's FA Cup defeat at Plymouth Argyle (1-0) on Sunday with a leg injury and his head coach Arne Slot has confirmed the defender "will definitely not be available" for Wednesday's match.

The 27-year-old is the visitors' only confirmed absentee with vice-captain Trent Alexander-Arnold hoping to shake off an issue that has seen him miss the Reds' last two games.

Slot is expected to make wholesale changes to his starting XI following the weekend defeat in Devon, with Alisson Becker, Virgil van Dijk, Alexis Mac Allister, Ryan Gravenberch and Mohamed Salah, none of whom travelled down south for the side's cup exit, all set to return to the lineup.

Ibrahima Konate, Andy Robertson, Dominik Szoboszlai and Cody Gakpo are also locks for the starting XI. Conor Bradley will start if Alexander-Arnold is only considered fit enough for the bench, and Slot must decide between Darwin Nunez, Diogo Jota and Luis Diaz as his third man in attack.

Everton vs Liverpool Odds

After losing his first game back in charge of Everton against Aston Villa (0-1), Moyes has led the Toffees to three consecutive victories in the Premier League, including back-to-back wins at Goodison Park against Tottenham Hotspur (3-2) and Leicester City (4-0). The Blues won the corresponding fixture 2-0 last season under Sean Dyche and are 7/1 to claim all three points on Wednesday, implying a 12.5% chance of success.

Liverpool, meanwhile, have won just two of their last six away games, although they have triumphed in their last two league outings away from Anfield, beating both Brentford and Bournemouth 2-0. The Reds are 2/5, or a 71.4% chance, to respond to Sunday's disappointment by beating their local rivals in the final Merseyside derby at Goodison Park.

The draw, which has landed in nine of the last 12 meetings at Goodison, is priced at 18/5, both teams to score at 10/11, and over 2.5 total goals at 4/6.

Liverpool's star man Salah leads the first (3/1) and anytime (19/20) goalscorer markets, with Beto first up in both for Everton at 10/1 and 100/30 respectively.

Player to Receive a Card - Alexis Mac Allister (LIV) @ 5/2

Mac Allister was banned from the original fixture but due to its postponement, served his suspension in Liverpool's 2-2 draw with Fulham instead.

The Argentine midfielder was a 72nd-minute substitute in the Reds' 4-0 Carabao Cup semi-final second leg victory over Tottenham Hotspur on February 6 and was left out of the squad that lost at Plymouth on Sunday, meaning his last start came on the first day of this month when Bournemouth were beaten on the South Coast, a match in which he was booked.

That was the 26-year-old's sixth yellow card of the Premier League campaign in just 22 appearances, and he appears destined to beat last season's tally of eight yellows - and one red - in 33 games.

Mac Allister has also been cautioned four times in six Uefa Champions League outings, meaning he has racked up 10 bookings already this term - more than any of his teammates.

The former Brighton & Hove Albion midfield maestro has an interesting record against Everton, netting three times in four appearances against them for the Seagulls, but in the dying embers of his first Merseyside derby at Goodison last season, he was yellow carded.

Sparks could fly in the last-ever Goodison derby on Wednesday, and I expect Mac Allister to be front and centre of any skirmishes. He's a feisty character, often found snarling at opponents, and an average of 1.9 fouls committed per game in the Premier League this season highlights just how dirty he can be out of possession.

With Iliman Ndiaye (fouled, on average, 1.7 times per game) likely to be buzzing around the Argentina international in midweek, the Liverpool ace could well be forced to fly into a few challenges, and I can easily see his name being scribbled in the referee's notebook.

First Corner Team - Everton @ 13/8

Given the disparity in talent between these sides over the last few years and how each has set up tactically, it may surprise you that Everton have won the first corner in three of the last five Merseyside derbies.

This, I believe, is an interesting angle for Wednesday's contest, with Everton supporters sure to be fired up for the final game against Liverpool at Goodison.

I expect a hostile atmosphere for the visitors and the hosts will surely look to channel the energy in the ground by going at the Reds from the first whistle.

Slot's side have had some uncomfortable away games this calendar year, only winning two out of six on their travels, and the couple they did emerge victorious from were far from straightforward.

Back the Blues to start quickly and take the first corner of the match at 13/8.

Offers

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