Sky Sports pundit Charlie Nicholas has tipped Everton head coach Marco Silva to tweak his tactics for Wednesday night’s Merseyside Derby at Liverpool.
Liverpool go into the clash top of the Premier League table and eight points clear of second-placed Leicester City, after scraping a 2-1 win against Brighton & Hove Albion at the weekend thanks to a Virgil van Dijk brace.
The Reds lost goalkeeper Alisson Becker for our mid-week trip to Anfield, though, as the Brazilian was shown a straight red card at home to the Seagulls and will be serving a one-game ban.
But Nicholas still expects Jurgen Klopp’s men to emerge triumphant at the full-time whistle after we take to the field at Anfield, as Liverpool will want to rub salt into our ever-growing wounds.
Silva oversaw our eighth league defeat of the campaign on Sunday when Kelechi Iheanacho struck a stoppage-time winner for Leicester City, with the result demoting us to just two points above the relegation places.
Nicholas envisages Silva will respond to our latest loss by tweaking his tactics to try and dent Liverpool’s offensive aspirations, and will park the bus at Anfield to potentially save his job as the shadows of unemployment creep in.
Writing in his mid-week predictions for Sky Sports, Nicholas noted: “Everton lost this fixture last season to a last-minute Divock Origi goal. Marco Silva, who is another manager in serious danger, is saying that he has no interest in talking about his job. He knows what is in store, but he may be out soon. I am just not sure how soon.
“If they get beat by three or four I think it will be over for Silva on Thursday. What happens after that? Does David Moyes come in and save the day or do they twist and go with Eddie Howe to build a project? It’s a big call for the decision-makers at Everton.
“This game is a different scenario though – it’s the derby. The two sides will not be thinking about anything that’s to come around the corner. Liverpool will want to rub Everton’s noses in it. Everton will park the bus, but Liverpool will be comfortable.”
Should Silva park the bus at Anfield?
Yes, we have to try something different
No, Silva has to go all-out for the win
Liverpool have won each of their seven home Premier League fixtures this season and have not yet failed to score at least two goals, while hitting three past Arsenal and Manchester City.
Silva’s Toffees, meanwhile, have lost five of our seven away league games this term, and only managed to keep a clean sheet in the opening weekend 0-0 draw with Crystal Palace.
In other Everton news, lots of supporters have been reacting to a key Toffees man’s recent comments.