Everyone will of course be watching Reds captain Steven Gerrard, in what for him will be his 33rd and last ever Liverpool derby before joining the LA Galaxy in the summer.
The big dilemma however for manager Brendan Rodgers is if he should start striker Daniel Sturridge or not, and if you listen to Sky Sports pundit Jamie Redknapp the answer is a resounding yes saying: “Raheem Sterling has done an amazing job while Sturridge was out injured and Liverpool fans have to be thankful to him for that. But, by moving Sterling into a deeper role, you look at that Liverpool side now and there’s so much pace going through it.”
“There’s plenty of skill, too, and Philippe Coutinho, who scored their late, late winner against Bolton with a superb strike, is having a real impact at the moment.”
“The Brazilian has been the most improved player for Liverpool this season. Last year there was a lot of appreciation for his skill but he wasn’t grabbing headlines. Now he’s starting to do that – but he must add more goals to his game.”
“If you have as much skill and ability as Coutinho and can shoot from distance like he can, then you should be scoring more often. Wednesday’s strike was just his third of the campaign. If he wants to step up to the level of players like David Silva and Luka Modric – which he can – then he needs to be scoring 10 per season.”
As for Everton the win against Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park will help ease the fear a bit after having not won any of their previous eight games, and with the January addition of Aaron Lennon from Spurs Roberto will hope that they will be able to get more balls to Romelu Lukaku who has looked frustrated over the lack of balls played to him.
Redknapp however is of the opinion that should Rodgers star Sturridge Liverpool will win what should be a tightly fought match saying:
“I reckon it will be the striker at the other end who makes the difference in this one. If Sturridge starts, I reckon Liverpool will win a tight game by one goal. These games are always tough to call but I reckon Liverpool will just nick it.”
