JUST over a week ago, this Merseyside derby looked like a comfortable win for Liverpool – but all that has changed.
Everton were in dire form, having failed to win a single game in their previous eight appearances under Frank Lampard.
Unfortunately, for Jurgen Klopp’s strugglers, Lampard was removed from his position and replaced with a man that no team in dwindling form wants to face – Sean Dyche.
Dyche reaffirmed everyone’s belief that he was able to give any team a proper structure and in his first game in charge Everton beat the league leaders Arsenal.
The Toffees looked revitalised, having been handed a new lease of life under the former Burnley boss.
As many expected, the football wasn’t pretty, but it was certainly effective.
With Liverpool in free-fall at the moment, the last thing the Anfield faithful would have wanted was to face a rejuvenated Everton.
Defeat at home in the derby would be the most humiliating loss of the lot for the Reds.
And it could even spell the end of the German tactician’s reign in front of the Kop.
With a massive three points hanging in the balance for both Merseyside clubs, we have taken a look at three key tactical areas this derby can be won and lost.
A compromising Dyche
Under Frank Lampard, the 4-1-4-1 had become commonplace at Goodison Park.
But the ex-Chelsea manager’s tactics left Everton far too exposed in defence, particularly during moments of transition after losing possession.
To Lampard’s credit, he always tried to play attacking football and instilled an offensive philosophy into his players from the get-go when he took over last January.
Unfortunately, going forward without considering the repercussions of losing the ball is nonsensical.
The best teams always attack in a manner which leaves them in a position to cope with counterattacks in case possession is turned over. This is known as ‘rest defence’.
There are different ways for a manager to impose a solid rest defence structure.
For instance, if a side overloads one flank of the pitch but lose possession, there should be enough players in that region to counterpress effectively and regain the ball as a result of the original overload.
Everton’s rest defence structure was non-existent under Lampard which is why it seemed as though every time the Toffees lost the ball in the final third, they would concede an opportunity at the other end.
As the fullbacks would position themselves really high, this often meant that the flanks were the most exposed areas for Everton when attempting to defend counterattacks.
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Given the wealth of evidence available from Dyche’s decade in charge of Burnley, many expected the 51-year-old to line his newfound Everton players up in a 4-4-2.
Surprisingly, Dyche decided that it was better to stick with what the players already knew rather than trying to switch to a more unfamiliar shape.
Nevertheless, while Dyche went with a 4-1-4-1, there was far more structure to the team in and out of possession then was ever the case under his predecessor.
Everton attacked with numbers, defended as a unit, and worked tirelessly during transitional situations to ensure that they were not split open on the break.
To make sure that Everton had balance during transitions, Dyche held his fullbacks in deeper positions.
Normally under Lampard, the fullbacks would bomb on down the flanks.
However, the new manager stopped his wide defenders from stepping foot in the final third.
The benefit of this was that, when Everton lost possession, the two fullbacks would already be in position to track Arsenal’s rapid wingers, Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli.
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This will be highly beneficial against Liverpool on Monday.
While the Reds have struggled in almost every aspect this season, they can still be deadly on the break and have lightning quick players such as Mohamed Salah and Cody Gakpo on the wings to wreak havoc.
Everton’s defensive block
Dyche made Everton far more secure against one of the best sides in the Premier League on the break.
However, the Toffees were also exceptional when defending deeper on the pitch.
Having set-up in a 4-1-4-1 last Saturday, the shape dropped into a highly narrow 4-5-1 when Everton defended in a low block.
The most impressive aspect of this new structure was just how compact Everton were between the lines.
Arsenal could hardly reach their central midfielders in higher positions, particularly captain Martin Odegaard who plays his best stuff when operating in this area between the opposition’s midfield and defence.
As a result, Mikel Arteta’s men were forced to play wider.
When this happened, the nearest winger would drop deeper into the defensive line and the shape would practically switch from a 4-5-1 to a 5-4-1.
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This was an excellent way to deal with Arsenal’s threat centrally and on the flanks.
Since the Gunners attack with two wide players, Everton could defend 2v2 with their wingers and fullbacks against their opposite numbers.
This defensive approach was dogmatic yet simplistic and was certainly effective. Arsenal registered an xG of merely 1.1 and five of the visitors’ 14 shots were from outside the penalty area.
Furthermore, the Gunners finished the game with a lowly expected assists number of 0.79, proving just how little quality had when creating chances at Goodison Park.
This has been such a rarity this season for the league leaders, but massive credit must be given to Dyche for completely restricting one of the best attacks in world football.
Monday night’s opponent once held the title of being the best attack in all the land.
Unfortunately for Liverpool supporters, this seems like a distant memory now.
Since the turn of the year, Klopp’s side have scored just five goals in seven games in all competitions, winning just once.
Nonetheless, Liverpool’s accumulated xG stands at 9.5 from these seven games which is a colossal underperformance, showing just how poor the forward players have been in front of goal.
But it does also prove that Liverpool are still creating chances and so Everton will need to be just as solid defensively in the derby as they were last Saturday.
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One way that Liverpool can look to exploit Everton is through switches of play.
Given that Everton will likely give little to no room between the lines, the hosts will be forced to play out to the flanks.
In return, the Toffees will drop their defensive block across the pitch to the ball-side.
When this occurs, Liverpool can use the passing range of the likes of Thiago to quickly switch the ball to the opposite flank.
The reason for this is because there will be acres of space on the far side, meaning the furthest fullback can receive the ball with freedom to pick out an excellent cross in the middle.
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Crosses from the fullbacks have always been a staple of Liverpool’s attacking play during the Jurgen Klopp era.
They may be as important as ever to claim all three points in this derby clash.
Dealing with Everton’s aerial threat
While we have discussed Everton’s system out of possession, it’s time to take a look at how the Toffees can hurt their neighbours in their own backyard.
If you watched a Burnley game during Dyche’s reign, it may not be a surprise how Everton played in possession against Arsenal in the early kick-off last Saturday.
The Toffees were incredibly direct.
There was no more building out from the back which had become a prerequisite under Frank Lampard.
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Everton’s style on the ball was pretty much focused on getting into the final third as quickly as possible, using long balls from the backline and the goalkeeper to do so.
Dominic Calvert-Lewin was primarily the target from these direct passes but the England international was supported by Amadou Onana too which was a tactical change from Dyche’s predecessor.
Onana often played just off of Calvert-Lewin in these situations and was constantly used as a threat in the box to win headers against Arsenal’s backline alongside the centre-forward.
Once these passes were played, the rest of the team would squeeze up the pitch, getting ready to win the second balls to sustain attacks in the final third.
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When Everton did sustain attacks in the Arsenal third, if a direct opportunity at goal wasn’t on the cards, the hosts would play wide.
The hope here was to get McNeil and Alex Iwobi on the ball to provide crosses.
Both men are excellent dribblers and gave the Gunners’ fullbacks a difficult game throughout while offering Everton quality deliveries into the box.
McNeil in particular had arguably his most impressive performance in a blue shirt and was a constant threat for the Toffees in the final third having won six of his eight total dribbles.
Having started on the right, the former Burnley man was switched to the left where he was far more productive during the game.
Dyche will undoubtedly look to use McNeil to target Trent Alexander-Arnold’s defensive deficiencies in the Merseyside derby in the same way that almost every team has done this season when facing Klopp’s Liverpool.
The England fullback is superb going forward and has provided more assists than any other fullback in the Premier League since making his debut.
His importance to Liverpool’s attack since emerging from the academy six years ago is second to none.
Unfortunately, Alexander-Arnold is not the best defender, particularly during 1v1 situations against his opposite winger, leaving the Reds very exposed down the right side of their defence.
One of the best examples of a team taking advantage of the right-back’s defensive weaknesses was when Napoli’s Khvicha Kvaratskhelia ran rampant at the Diego Armando Maradona Stadium down this side.
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Alexander-Arnold was caught out on a number of occasions and rarely got near the nippy Georgian winger.
While McNeil may not be as tricky or as skilled as Kvaratskhelia, Dyche will be hoping that he can get the better of Liverpool’s right fullback on the night.
Providing he does, McNeil can get past Alexander-Arnold and whip some dangerous balls into the middle towards Calvert-Lewin or any late arrivals in the penalty area.
It will be a big night for Alexander-Arnold. This battle on the flank can potentially be the decider between which team comes out on top.
So what does this all mean?
Depending on other results at the weekend, a defeat for Liverpool could leave last season’s runners-up in the bottom half of the Premier League table.
However, with a Real Madrid double-header on the horizon in the coming weeks, a victory in the Merseyside derby over Everton could be exactly what is needed to lift the crowd and, more importantly, the squad’s spirits.
Nevertheless, a worthy foe awaits.
Having beaten Arsenal with an excellent display of tactical discipline and quality, Dyche’s Toffees could walk away with a coveted three points, further piling on the misery for the Reds.
Dyche has beaten Klopp before at Anfield with his previous club. Could he do it again?