YOU wait for one big game this weekend, then three come along in quick succession, and the bus analogy extends to Anfield this Saturday lunchtime with Everton expected to park theirs.
Last time out, on that side of Stanley Park, the Toffees ceded 74% of the possession and hunkered down throughout, frustrating their neighbours and limiting them to just a single big chance. The contest was only won when Diogo Jota carved out one for himself via a mazy dribble.
David Moyes couldn’t strategize for that, but in every other regard he set his team up brilliantly that evening. Banks of four. Doubling up on danger men. Smothering the spaces. He may not be everyone’s cup of tea but there are few better than the Scot at pitting his side against a superior opposition and nullifying them.
And yet. And yet his record at Anfield is little short of abysmal, failing to win there in 22 attempts, while his return against the ‘top six’ across two decades of management is famously poor. Too often, it seems, he is guilty of prioritising shape and discipline over ambition, and on virtually every occasion there will be a moment of magic that renders such conservatism redundant. A meandering run. A perfectly flighted cross. A screamer from range.
Unless luck is ridden to the max and a smash-and-grab can be attained, it feels almost inevitable that Liverpool will find a way at the weekend, and that is said while fully acknowledging that Everton have began their campaign brightly.
Anticipating a low block brings a touch of annoyance on behalf of Toffees supporters because watching Liverpool this term, you can’t help but think the best way to better them is to attack their flaws.
There are issues down their flanks, with full-backs still acclimatising to Arne Slot’s mandate. Ibrahima Konate, meanwhile, was fantastic at Turf Moor but elsewhere has struggled, which in turn has left Virgil Van Dijk isolated. Beto could take full advantage of that after troubling the Dutchman last term.
Moreover, a 100% record to date speaks well of a solid title defence but look at how many times the Reds have got out of jail to accomplish it.
There was their late show vs Bournemouth, after relinquishing a two-goal lead. A 100th minute winner at St James Park. A free kick plucked from the gods to down Arsenal. A 95th-minute Mo Salah pen last week.
The Reds are due to drop points – it’s in the wind – but Moyes must change the habit of a lifetime and come out punching on Saturday. He very likely won’t.
This Merseyside double pays 13/2…
A few hours later, 34 miles up the M62, Manchester United take on Chelsea and the first thing to note is that United boast an impressive record against the Blues, losing just two of their last 10 league encounters. Both occurred in London.
Indeed, when assessing their head-to-head in the post-Ferguson era we find several examples of the Reds triumphing – or playing out a draw – against expectation, despite the club being mired in crisis at the time.
What Ruben Amorim wouldn’t give for this trend to continue because boy are they in the mire again.
It may be early doors, but four points from four outings places United 14th in the table, a hinterland between mid-table and the drop zone that they’re becoming all too acquainted with under the Portuguese coach, who still insists his system is a winner, despite all evidence to the contrary.
In this regard he brings to mind a man swearing blind that a piano isn’t falling on his head, while 800 pounds of mahogany and keys plummet from a tenth storey window.
Will everything come crashing down around him come Monday morning? That feels distinctly possible if a 24th defeat on his watch plays itself out, an outcome that is nigh-on a certainty if Chelsea manage to create overloads among a midfield that is not fit for purpose.
That’s what Manchester City focused their attention on last weekend, with Doku and Bernardo Silva drifting infield, which in turn afforded Phil Foden and Tijjani Reijnders oceans of space. In truth, both routinely wasted opportunities that arose from this. In truth, the 3-0 scoreline would have been much more comprehensive if City had been ruthless.
For Foden, read Cole Palmer, and the 23-year-old presumably won’t be so charitable as the opposing number 10 this time out. Now recovered from a groin strain, the schemer took on five shots in a short cameo against Brentford. He has taken on a shot every 20 minutes across his last 500 minutes.
Palmer is fancied to score or assist at Old Trafford, while Joao Pedro is also of interest. The damage, meanwhile, could be done late on, with United conceding five of their six goals so far in the second period. 68% of Chelsea’s last 40 have been converted after the break.
Stuffed to the gills on these big clashes, we must then somehow find room for arguably the biggest course of them all on Sunday afternoon when Manchester City travel to the Emirates.
The Blues’ derby win may have quieted the doubters for the time being, but a defeat here will embolden them anew, likely leaving Pep Guardiola’s men nine points adrift of the summit.
It is ominous, therefore, that Arsenal appear to have got a read on their title rivals in recent seasons, winning three and drawing two of their last five meetings. This after previously finding themselves outclassed many times over.
In North London, Martin Odegaard will be a big miss for the Gunners, in a game of such magnitude, though the form and impact of his namesake Zubimendi compensates. As for City, Jeremy Doku will be relied upon to be the most dangerous winger on the day. Two assists and four key passes last week suggests he can be.
Really though, for all the many subplots and significant context this game offers up, it might ultimately come down to two heavyweight goalscorers.
Between them, for club and their Scandinavian countries, Viktor Gyokeres and Erling Haaland have fired an astonishing 216 goals across the last two calendar years. The Gunners ace has a 43% shot accuracy to this point in 2025/26; Haaland has 42%.
Should either man be backed to add to their phenomenal tally at the weekend? By all means, but the real value lies in corners and cards.
Their last five encounters have produced an average of 9.6 corners awarded. Those five games saw Arsenal booked 16 times – with a sending off to boot – to City’s 10.
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