Everton v Liverpool 
Monday December 19, 20:00
Live on Sky Sports 1

Everton 

The Toffees brought a sticky patch of poor results to an end with a come-from-behind midweek defeat of title contenders Arsenal. That unlikely win will have been warmly welcomed by manager Ronald Koeman who had been beginning to feel the pressure with his team mired in a run of just one win in nine having begun the campaign with 13 points from the first five matches. 
Everton's poor run has left them in eighth, slightly detached from the elite, and in danger of being overhauled by a phalanx of progressive mid-table sides. A win on Monday would reinforce their status as the best of the chasing pack. 
Koeman must try to secure the three points without the services of the suspended Phil Jagielka and injured Yannick Bolasie.

Liverpool 


The Reds returned to winning ways in midweek when defeating Middlesbrough 3-0 in front of the Riverside faithful. That got Jurgen Klopp's title hopefuls back on track after picking up one point from the previous two matches, but despite sitting in second place they go into Monday night's game trailing leaders Chelsea by nine points.
Liverpool's 16 top-flight games have seen an incredible 60 goals (40 for the Reds) and they have managed to keep the scoring up despite being without arguably their key attacking force in Philippe Coutinho. England midfielder Adam Lallana has found his shooting boots in recent weeks, scoring a brace in midweek at Middlesbrough to follow up a goal against West Ham the week before.
Forward Divock Origi has picked up some of the goalscoring slack in recent weeks, too, scoring in the last four Premier League fixtures, but is a slight doubt to feature on Monday night.


Match Odds


The headline here is that this fixture has been drawn for the last four seasons, and at a variety of scorelines, 1-1 the last two times at Goodison Park, 3-3 in 2013/14 and 2-2 to start the sequence back in October 2012. Are these two so evenly matched this year, however?
The draw is a touch bigger than we usually see, trading at 3.75 with Liverpool - winners of 10 Premier League games from 16 fixtures - the1.96 favourites. Both Liverpool defeats have come on the road but they have picked up five victories on their travels with Arsenal and Chelsea among their victims. It wouldn't be a surprise to see the Reds beat the auld enemy and at nearly even money there'll be plenty happy to back them.
Everton, 4.40 for the win, have clearly been struggling in recent weeks, but is the defeat of Arsenal a sign that they're back? It should be noted that, despite going through a tough run of results, they have not been beaten in the league. Maybe the draw is the bet after all...


Over/Under 2.5 Goals 


As for every Liverpool game the high total is the favourite, but it doesn't look a bad price at 1.78, given 11 of their 16 have finished with three or more goals scored. At a shade lower (1.72) some punters might prefer to back both teams to score. I think both options are best when doubled up with the match odds selections, however.
In recent times (the last four seasons) this fixture has either beenvery high-scoring or the opposite - as evidenced by the 2-2 and 3-3 draws, but also 4-0 wins for Liverpool at Anfield, with a pair of 0-0s and a pair of 1-1s.
With Liverpool in need of a win to keep the gap to Chelsea to a reasonable six points, we may be in for an entertaining encounter and over 3.5 goals will attract a few backers at 3.00. Over 4.5 is 5.50.


Match Odds/Both Teams To Score Double


If you fancy both teams will celebrate at least one goal apiece then you can boost your match odds fancy by adding BTTS in to the bet. In what is a tricky one to assess I am just swayed by Liverpool's winning habit, coupled with the absence of Jagielka and the hopeful start of Origi. You can back a Reds win/BTTS at 3.40 on the Exchange.
Ref Watch 
Mike Dean is the man in black, taking charge of his 13th Premier League game this season and it could be a busy one. Recent weeks have seen Dean go for the yellows with a devil-may-care attitude, producing six in games at Bournemouth, Spurs and Chelsea, with yellows leading to reds in the first two fixtures. Opta tell us this fixture has seen more red cards than any other in Premier League history (21) so Dean may well be sending a player to the stands again.


Recommended Bet




Back Liverpool win/Both Teams to Score double @ 3.40

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