Everton host Liverpool in this season’s second Merseyside derby. The Toffees have found results hard to come by against their cross-town rivals, winning just once in the league since 2006. Last Word on Football brings you our predicted lineup for the game that kicks off Wednesday, April 24 at 8 pm GMT.
Merseyside derby #244
COYB!
#EVELIV pic.twitter.com/O4qxEK24la
— Everton (@Everton) April 24, 2024
Selection for defenders has been pretty straightforward this season. Jarrad Branthwaite and James Tarkowski have started all but three premier league games as the centre-backs together. Vitaliy Mykolenko is the first choice left back when fit while Jordan Pickford remains steadfast in goals with 10 clean sheets this season.
The right-back position has recently had a high level of rotation with James Patterson, Seamus Coleman, Ben Godfrey, and Ashley Young all seeing minutes over the last two games.
After poor performances from Amadou Onana and James Garner in the beating to Chelsea, rotation at the centre midfield position was needed. Andre Gomes and Idrissa Gueye were chosen for the match against Nottingham Forest. Dwight McNeil and Jack Harrison provided support on the flanks.
Up top Dominic Calvert-Lewin returned to the starting lineup after an injury kept him out of the squad last match. Abdoulaye Doucouré was in support, playing the second striker role.
The 2-0 win against Nottingham Forest means Everton are five points clear of relegation with six games remaining.
This match will be the Toffees’ toughest until the season ends. Likely to have less than 40% possession, Gueye will be a key piece in how this match pans out. His midfield partner will probably be Onana, to provide some steel in what will be a physical match.
Expect DCL to be isolated up front, looking to hold up play for oncoming wingers. Doucoure will drop into the midfield to turn the formation into 4-5-1.
Everton will pick their spots when they press but often go all out when they do. They rank third in the league for tackles made in their attacking third. This is often their best way to create chances.
Nathan Patterson has been ruled out for the season because of a hamstring injury. Coleman was an unused sub last time out against Forest because of a knock received against Chelsea and will miss this match. Arnaut Danjuma will likely return to the squad after three months on the sideline recovering from an ankle injury. Manager Sean Dyche is hopeful that Calvert-Lewin will be fit to suit up for the derby.
GK: Jordan Pickford
RB: Ben Godfrey
CB: James Tarkowski
CB: Jarrad Branthwaite
LB: Vitaliy Mykolenko
CM: Amadou Onana
CM: Idrissa Gueye
CAM: Abdoulaye Doucoure
LM: Dwight McNeil
RM: Jack Harrison
ST: Dominic Calvert-Lewin
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Liverpool could be set to make their first big move for Alexander Isak in the next few days, according to reports. Over the weekend, Fabrizio Romano outlined that the Reds are expected to ‘go strong’ in their efforts to sign the Newcastle striker, who’s understood to desire a switch to Anfield amid his absence from the Magpies’ pre-season tour to the Far East. With the LFC coffers about to be topped up from the impending sale of Luis Diaz to Bayern Munich (Paul Joyce has quoted a fee of £65.6m for the Colombian), that cash injection could tee up an opening offer for the Swedish marksman. How much are Liverpool expected to bid for Isak? According to Sacha Tavolieri for skysport.ch, Liverpool chiefs will ‘begin official talks’ with the St James’ Park outfit ‘in the coming days’ to notify them of their intentions to soon submit a ‘written offer’ for Isak, with a meeting scheduled to take place in the next 48 hours. The Reds are expected to make an opening bid of £100m for the 25-year-old despite being aware that the Magpies’ asking price is 50% higher, with a belief at Anfield that they can secure a deal for £120m plus performance-related add-ons. It’s understood that the Sweden international has already agreed personal terms on a five-year contract offer which ‘perfectly matches’ his wage expectations. Will Liverpool eventually break Newcastle’s resolve over Isak? Liverpool’s apparent strategy with their pursuit of Isak would appear to have echoes of how they ultimately signed Florian Wirtz – go in with a lowball offer and gradually work upwards before reaching a figure which’ll satisfy the selling club despite it being less than their initial asking price. While the Reds ultimately negotiated Bayer Leverkusen down to a deal of £100m plus add-ons for the Germany playmaker, it seems inevitable that they’ll pay considerably more for the Newcastle striker – if they can convince the Magpies to deviate from their firm not-for-sale stance. With the 25-year-old seemingly making it clear that he wants to join LFC, that might nudge the Tyneside club towards reluctantly agreeing a deal, provided that it’s for an amount they believe would be worth accepting. It’d represent an enormous state of intent from Liverpool if they’re to sign Isak and break their record transfer fee for a second time this summer, although Richard Hughes can’t let the deadline pass without bringing in a centre-back, where our options are worryingly threadbare after Joe Gomez’s injury. It looks as though the Reds will make their first move for the Newcastle marksman this week, and there could be plenty of back-and-forth between the two clubs before a deal is struck (if indeed it is). We suspect that the saga could run well into August, whilst remaining confident that the Merseysiders will eventually get their man.
Left-handed starting pitcher Blake Snell is in his tenth major-league season after making his debut with the Tampa Bay Rays in 2016. Snell spent time with the San Diego Padres, then signed a deal with the San Francisco Giants after the 2023 season, which he later opted out of to enter free agency in 2024. The 32-year-old veteran signed a five-year, $182 million contract this offseason with the Los Angeles Dodgers after an exceptional 2024 campaign. Snell earned such a lucrative contract thanks to his outstanding career to date, which includes two Cy Young Awards and an All-Star appearance. Over 213 career starts, he owns a 77–58 record, a 3.18 ERA and 1,372 strikeouts. Snell was placed on the injured list on April 6 (retroactive to April 3) with left shoulder inflammation after experiencing discomfort during a bullpen session; he had made only two starts for the Dodgers before the injury. After four minor-league rehab outings, manager Dave Roberts announced on Sunday that Snell is expected to rejoin the rotation next week. With his return looming, the Dodgers have decided to shift to a six-man rotation but now face a decision on right-hander Dustin May’s roster status. May returned to a full-time starting role for the first time in two seasons and has struggled. On Sunday against the Boston Red Sox, May allowed four runs in five innings of work, and he entered the start with an ERA of 4.73. May’s name has surfaced in trade rumors, and he is a candidate to potentially be moved to the bullpen. He is an unrestricted free agent at the end of this season.
Kirk Cousins might be relegated to the job of backup quarterback, but he is showing veteran leadership to his Atlanta Falcons teammates. Following Sunday's practice, Cousins pulled aside rookie defensive end James Pearce to encourage the first-round pick after his fourth practice in the league at Flowery Branch, Georgia. "QB Kirk Cousins pulled aside Pearce after practice to compliment him on a pass batted down," wrote Marc Raimondi of ESPN. Cousins reportedly had a solid day of practice on Sunday, going 7-of-12 passing against the first-team unit. If Cousins wants out of Atlanta, he's not showing it at practice. The four-time Pro Bowl quarterback is competing on the field and being a good teammate around the facility. Cousins' actions on the field backed up what Falcons general manager Terry Fontenot praised Cousins for before the team's practice on Sunday. “Outside, it's a lot more of a deal than it is in the building,” Fontenot said to the media about the idea of friction between the Falcons and Cousins, per video from D. Orlando Ledbetter of the Atlanta Journal Constitution. “He shows up, he does his job, just like anybody ... We've gotta build the best 70-man roster so we can go win games. "That's what we're focused on, and Kirk, just like all the other players, is focused on coming in here and doing their job. That's what he's been doing." Fontenot didn't dismiss the idea that Atlanta would trade Cousins before the season. He said the Falcons will do whatever it takes to make the team better, but stressed that Cousins has been a professional throughout the process of being replaced by Michael Penix Jr., a first-round pick from the 2024 draft. “In terms of making moves, whether it's trades or acquiring players, we're always looking at those factors," Fontenot said. "We're gonna do whatever we can do to make this team the best it can possibly be. But he's been a great professional, and he's handled himself well.” Cousins is coming to work in a manner that will make another owner want to take a chance on the veteran quarterback. That could be one of his best-selling points before he plays in his 13th season in the league.
After already dealing Ryan McMahon to the Yankees, the Rockies are open for business heading into Thursday’s deadline as one of the few true sellers on the market. Another trade with the Yankees could be a possibility, as The Athletic’s Brendan Kuty reports that New York has interest in Colorado reliever Jake Bird among many other names on the bullpen market. Bird’s first three Major League seasons (2022-24) saw the right-hander post a 4.53 ERA, 19.3% strikeout rate, and 9.7% walk rate across 177 innings for the Rockies, all in a relief capacity apart from three pseudo-starts as an opener. His 4.05 ERA and 9.1% walk rate in 53 1/3 innings in 2025 are pretty comparable, but the big difference is a strikeout rate that has leapt up to 26.7%. Above-average whiff and chase rates support the increase in missed bats, and Bird’s solid barrel and grounder rates have also helped him limit damage at Coors Field. Interestingly, Bird’s home/road splits this year are actually much better in Denver (2.48 ERA in 29 innings) than away from home (5.92 ERA in 24 1/3 innings). A 3.19 SIERA paints an even more flattering picture of Bird’s improved performance, as a .352 BABIP has inflated the reliever’s ERA. Adopting the sweeper as his primary pitch seemed to have unlocked both Bird’s strikeout ability, and it has helped his curveball regain its 2023 status as a plus offering. Yankees pitching coach Matt Blake is a known proponent of the sweeper, which likely adds to New York’s interest in the Rox reliever. Bird will reach arbitration eligibility for the first time this winter, so he is controlled through the 2028 season. The Rockies are also reportedly open to offers on two other controllable relievers in Victor Vodnik and Seth Halvorsen, as Colorado’s willingness to take a broader approach to the deadline represents a change in direction for the organization. The Rockies had been traditionally wary about even moving pending free agents at the deadline, yet the new low of the team’s dreadful 27-78 record seems to have convinced the organization that larger changes are necessary. Even controllable relief pitching only has so much present value to a team that may be years away from contending, so it makes sense for the Rox to consider moving some of their bullpen arms. Given the natural volatility of relief pitching and Bird’s lack of a track record, selling high on his current success might well be a wise move for GM Bill Schmidt. Beyond the bullpen arms, Colorado is getting hits on other players on the roster. MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand writes that Hunter Goodman, Brenton Doyle, Kyle Freeland and Austin Gomber are all getting varying degrees of trade attention, though it is very unlikely that Goodman or Doyle are moved. Goodman is enjoying a breakout season that resulted in an All-Star citation. Doyle is struggling through a rough year that has seen his bat and center field glovework both take big steps backwards from 2024, but the Rockies don’t seem likely to sell low. Goodman and Doyle are both controlled through the 2028 season, whereas Gomber is an impending free agent and Freeland is under contract through the 2026 campaign. Freeland is owed around $5.33M for the remainder of this season and then $16M in 2026, with a $17M vesting player option available for 2027 if Freeland tosses at least 170 innings next year. This price tag makes it pretty unlikely that Freeland will be dealt, unless Colorado was to eat most or all of that remaining salary. The southpaw has a 5.24 ERA over 101 1/3 innings in 2025, and a 5.03 ERA in 840 2/3 frames since Opening Day 2019. Because Freeland has spent his entire career in Denver’s thin air, there’s a bit of an X factor in gauging how well he could perform outside of such a hitter-friendly environment, even if his lifetime splits aren’t too drastic (4.85 ERA at home, 4.24 ERA on the road). Rival teams might not be intrigued enough by this potential upside to the take the plunge on a trade unless the Rockies indeed covered a lot of Freeland’s salary, which might not make it worth it for a Rox team that still needs someone to eat innings. Gomber is much less expensive and a rental player, so a rival team might have more willingness to take a flier on the southpaw as a depth arm. Feinsand notes Gomber’s superior road splits to his work at Coors Field, but the overall results haven’t been great, as Gomber has a 5.14 ERA in 578 1/3 innings since joining the Rockies prior to the 2021 season. That includes a 6.03 ERA in seven starts and 34 1/3 frames this year, as shoulder problems kept Gomber off the mound until mid-June.