David Moyes’ team approaches the match on the ninth step of the tournament table and retains real chances to compete for places near the European cup zone. Before the defeat by Chelsea, the Toffees won four out of five matches, and at home they confidently defeated Nottingham Forest. However, a 2-0 defeat at Stamford Bridge dampened Everton’s optimism somewhat, showing that matches against Europe’s elite remain a serious challenge.

The personnel situation adds additional problems to Moes. Striker Iliman Ndiaye and teammate-slapper Idriss Gana Gueye left the side due to the Africa Cup of Nations, while injuries sidelined Kiernan Dewsbury-Gall, Jarred Branthwaite, Seamus Coleman and Merlin Rehl. The participation of Jack Grealish is in question. At the same time, stability in the defense is provided by Vitaly Mykolenko, who remains a key figure on the left flank of the defense and regularly receives the trust of the coaching staff. Whether he will get a new contract is a matter for another discussion. The main thing is that his participation in today’s game is not in doubt, unless something unplanned happens.

Arsenal come to Liverpool at the top of the Premier League, two points ahead of Manchester City. Last round, the Gunners won a tough victory over Wolverhampton (2:1) thanks to two own goals, which brought more relief than joy. Mick Arteta’s side had one of their worst matches of the season, not having a single shot on target in the first half, but still managed to grind out a victory.

At the same time, the Londoners are showing some alarming signals: only one “dry” match in the last six rounds and conceded the first goals in three consecutive away matches, which is quite a lot for the best defensive line in Europe. Of course, such a sharp decrease in reliability in defense was influenced by a number of injuries to defenders, due to which Arteta is forced to experiment. In addition, Arsenal again lost another defender – Ben White was out for at least a month. Big Gabi, Christian Mosquera and Kai Havertz are also in the infirmary. However, the return of Riccardo Calafiori and the good form of Leandro Trossard, who has regularly scored on the road, will give the away fans some optimism as they aim to retain the top spot for at least this year.