Two Reasons to Get Excited About Sunday's Merseyside Derby

The last time a Merseyside derby was scheduled as the match of the week (in the much-coveted Sunday timeslot of 4pm GMT/11am ET), it was three years ago. Liverpool beat Everton 2-1 at Anfield with goals by Gerrard and Luis Garcia. Cahill pulled one back for Everton, but of course the match featured the obligatory red card. That time it went to Milan Baros.

Looking ahead to this Sunday’s clash between Liverpool and Everton, there’s a lot riding on the match other than the pride of Merseyside. The battle for fourth place in the Premier League is close with the red half of Liverpool just two points ahead of the blue half. A shock win by Everton here would allow the Toffees to jump over Liverpool.

Don’t count on it, though. The last time Everton won at Anfield was 1999 when Kevin Campbell scored the only goal. In that match, three players were sent off.

While the Merseyside derby is known for being very physical and usually low-scoring, this Sunday’s match should be a lot more intriguing and, I believe, will feature more goals than the typical nil nil derbies we’re used to seeing.

In anticipation for this weekend’s Liverpool derby, I want to share with you two pieces that touched my heart:

1) The first is an incredible video of what Anfield used to look like long before the ground was modernized. Whether you’re a Liverpool fan or not, watch this brief video. It gives me shivers every time I watch it.

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2) The second piece I want to share with you is an heartwarming story of an Everton fan living in Canada who has traveled more than two million miles from British Columbia to England to watch his favorite team. That isn’t the story, though. What this Everton fan has done for others is wonderful. Read the story here. Here’s hoping that this Sunday’s match will be just as exciting to watch as the matches shown on the previous two Sundays in the same timeslot: Manchester City v Spurs, and Chelsea v Arsenal.