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Saturday 6^th February

English Premier League

Liverpool v Everton

The second Merseyside derby of the season takes place at Anfield as the home side look to move into 4^th place in the table when they take on an in form Everton.

Rafa Benitez knows how important it is for his Liverpool side to finish in the Champions League places this season so anything other than a win here would be a catastrophic blow to their chances. As a result, this derby game takes on even more significance than it normally would. Liverpool are currently unbeaten in 6 league games, a run of games in which they have won 4 and drawn 2. The pick of their wins was against Tottenham last month where they played a more controlled game and always looked like winning. They are beginning to keep clean sheets as well with more regularity, conceding only 1 goal in those 6 matches, a last minute equalizer against Stoke. Benitez has finally stuck with a team selection and formation which has brought more consistent and better results and performances. They are still nowhere near the level they were last season but much better than earlier on in the season. Captain Steven Gerrard is back fit but he must start producing more often this season as he’s been disappointing in the first half of the campaign.

Everton are beginning to play like everyone expected them to from the start of the season. David Moyes’ side have had no luck whatsoever with injuries but now that the treatment room is beginning to empty, performances and results have improved dramatically. The blue half of Merseyside are unbeaten in 10 league matches, by far their best run of the season. They have won 5 of the 10, including their last 3. There have been several reasons for their resurgence in form, one of them is the loan signing of Landon Donovan on loan from the MLS. Donovan has provided a goalscoring threat from wide for the Toffees which they were missing in the early part of the season so it has given opposition defences more to think about. This has meant there has been more freedom for the likes of Tim Cahill and Steven Pienaar to play centrally and behind the striker, allowing them to play their natural game has inevitably brought more goals and in turn, points. Cahill notched the winner last weekend away at Wigan as well as at home against Sunderland whilst Pienaar has 3 in his last 5 games.

Liverpool will have to do without their main man upfront again as Fernando Torres is still absent. Glen Johnson is also still out so Jamie Carragher will fill the right back slot once again which will mean Soti Kyriagkos keeps his place at the heart of defence. He has been in good form of late but I remain very unconvinced that he’s good enough for a club like Liverpool. He was extremely error prone when at Rangers a few years ago and even against Stoke his concentration was lacking at times. He’ll be up against it tomorrow with all the attacking threat on show for Everton from all over the park. The away side are also brilliant at set-pieces so concentration is a must.  Everton will have Yakubu and Joseph Yobo back from international duty but both may have to settle for a place on the bench as the side are in such good form at the moment.

I expect their will be goals tomorrow afternoon despite both sides defences playing well of late. This will be the hardest match both sides have faced on their good runs in my opinion, simply because it is a derby game and the pace of the match will be even greater than it normally is in the Premier League. I’m not convinced Liverpool are good enough to beat Everton tomorrow despite being in decent form results wise. They were woeful against Wolves a fortnight ago whilst they were lucky not to concede last week at home to Bolton. Everton are playing far better than their city neighbours but they’ve not won at Anfield in the last decade so they know how hard it will be to take all 3 points back to Goodison. With all this considered I feel the wise money is on a scoring draw. However there may also be value in Everton draw no bet. The blue’s are in terrific form and records are there to be broken. I’m not convinced of the Liverpool defence and with Everton so strong at set pieces, they stand a good chance of breaking their Anfield hoodoo.

My selections: Liverpool and Everton to draw at a best priced 5/2 available with Skybet

                            Everton to beat Liverpool ‘draw no bet’ at a best priced 11/4 with Boylesports

Providing Liverpool do not win, you’ll be in profit should you back both of these bets at level stakes. Should the game end in a draw you will also receive your stake back on the DNB wager.

English Championship

Sheffield United v Derby County

Kevin Blackwell will be glad to get his side back to home comforts after two successive away defeats as Sheffield United take on Derby County at Bramall Lane.

The blades have got themselves back into the promotion picture after a run of good from since the end of December. They’ve won their last 4 home matches and unbeaten in the last 5, conceding zero goals in the process, so it doesn’t take a genius to work out where their strengths currently lie. They have, however, conceded 6 in the last two away games, against West Brom and Watford. Blackwell was left seething after both performances so will be demanding a much improved display tomorrow. With the 4^th best home record in the division, it is not inconceivable that they can put their poor away form behind them and get back to winning ways.

Derby put in a massive performance last weekend in their local derby against Nottingham Forest. Forest had been unbeaten in 16 league matches and had not lost away from home all season before their visit to Pride Park. 90 minutes and a Rob Hulse goal later, both records were away and Derby received a massive morale boost in their bid to stay in the Championship. Their away from, however, is not great at all with only 2 wins from 14 games on the road. Nigel Clough would no doubt be happy with a point and his side will be in buoyant mood after their heroics last Saturday.

Michael Tonge is no stranger to playing at Bramall lane after playing there for 8 years. This time, however, the midfielder will be lining up for the away side after his loan move from Stoke at the start of the week. He’ll likely go straight into the side as he’ll be match fit after a similar spell at Preston North End. Chris Morgan is out injured for the home side as is Andrew Taylor and Marcel Seip, so it will be a defensive reshuffle for Blackwell. The Blades have won their last two home games against tomorrow’s opponents and know that another victory is vital in their quest for a play-off place.

Derby will have put in a massive amount of energy last weekend, both physically and mentally. It will be interesting to see how they react to that expenditure tomorrow but I have a sneaky feeling that they will fail to maintain those levels this time around. There is a reason they are where they are and it is inconsistency.

My selection: Sheffield United to beat Derby County at a best priced 5/6 available with Coral