The Merseyside Derby kicks-off the top-flight action this weekend on Saturday lunchtime (12:30), with the game being broadcast live on TNT Sports.

We take a look at the Premier League clash and provide our Liverpool vs Everton Predictions and pick out a couple of betting tips for you to ponder as part of our full match preview…

When you look solely at recent results, you would say that Liverpool have been a bit wobbly whilst Everton have found something having picked up two massive wins in their past three. Sometimes raw numbers do not tell the full tale.

Jurgen Klopp’s side were incredibly unfortunate to come away from the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium with a bag full of nothing. The VAR controversy has certainly not been forgotten and if they miss out on the title or a Champions League place by less than three points, it will always put a small asterisk next to the final table.

Last time out they played a cracking game down at the AmEx and came away with what is a more than decent draw. Brighton are a tremendous side, who will take points off many of the top teams this season.

Before those two games, they had won eight straight in all competitions, so it would be fair to say Liverpool are starting to look like their old selves and are genuine title contenders.

On the other side of Stanley Park, winning the title is something of a pipedream as yet another season of fighting for top-flight survival is clearly on the cards.

Victories at Brentford and at home against Bournemouth have alleviated some of the pressure but clearly things are not looking good. That defeat at Goodison against Luton is a massive blot on their copybook, which shows that they are not a strong side.

Team News:

All eyes are on left-back Andy Robertson who suffered a dislocated shoulder whilst playing for his country last week. It seems highly unlikely that he’ll be ready to go here, so Kostas Tsimikas looks likely to come in. One to note for all the Fantasy Premier League players there.

Custis Jones is still serving a ban following his sending off in that aforementioned defeat at Spurs and Thiago Alcantara is still on the sidelines.

Another big decision will be over the inclusion of Darwin Nunez. The striker has been in and out of the side so far this campaign. With a long journey back from international duty, coupled with the early kick-off, we’ll see whether he starts or only plays from the bench. Luis Diaz is another in the same boat.

Whilst life isn’t exactly rosy for Sean Dyche right now, the treatment table isn’t overflowing. There are no new notes from the international break with Seamus Coleman and Dele Alli still working their way back. All eyes on who will start up top with Dominic Calvert-Lewin expected to get the nod.

Match Odds:

Liverpool head into the first Merseyside Derby of the season as firm betting favourites, coming in at 3/10 to get the win. We have the draw priced up at 9/2 with the Everton victory, a 7/1 shot.

Goals are very much expected. The Over 2.5 market is surprisingly short at just 2/5, hinting that the money and traders are both expecting the home side to roll. That can be backed up by the Over 2.5 Liverpool Goals market currently trading at Evens, so a 50:50 shot. BTTS is 4/6, which certainly stems from Liverpool’s slightly iffy defensive record.

When it comes to the Correct Score market, the 2-0 scoreline is the shortest-price available at 7/1. Both the 1-0 and 3-0 results are 17/2 shots. If you think Sean Dyche can pull off a bit of a smash n grab job then we go 28/1 for the Everton 0-1 away win.

In the anytime goalscorer market, we are odds-on for both Mo Salah (5/6) and Darwin Nunez (10/11). Dominic Calvert-Lewin tops the Everton players at 13/5.

*Remember this is a Double Delight/Hat-Trick Heaven game, so if you back any player to score first, if they do so and then go on to hit a second and/or a third, you’ll be paid out at double or triple the odds respectively. 

Bet 1 – James Tarkowski to be shown a card @ 2/1

The Everton captain has enjoyed a relatively peaceful start to the season when it comes to speaking to the referee about his name and number, having only been booked in the EFL Cup. Yet last campaign he saw yellow six times, five of those occasions when playing away from home.

On Saturday, he could well be up against it with the likes of Mo Salah, Darwin Nunez and Luis Diaz all having pace that could open up Everton in quick transition.

Craig Pawson is averaging over five cards a game in the Premier League so far this season and with bad weather in the forecast, coupled with what should be a highly-charged atmosphere, this could well see a fair few mistimed tackles flying about.

Bet 2 – Everton to score first @ 9/4

Now this seems like a bit of a punt but Klopp’s side have regularly gotten off to slow starts so far this campaign. In the seven games where they have conceded, they have actually been 1-0 down in five of them.

No doubt this is something that Liverpool have been working on but as we are now well into the season, that is starting to be more than a statistical anomaly. The 9/4 indicates an implied probability of 31% and I think that is about right considering how poor Everton are in front of goal. As a small stakes value play, I like it.

Bet 3 – Liverpool to win 3-1 @ 9/1

A bonus third bet here as our colleagues over at TheSportsman spoke with Redmen and Toffee TV about the upcoming Merseyside Derby. You can watch their preview embedded below but both men when asked for a Correct Score Prediction said the final score would be Liverpool 3-1 Everton, so I’ve thrown it into the mix and it is priced up at 9/1.