Football betting tips: Merseyside derby
2pts Both teams to score 'no' at 6/5 (General)
0.5pt No Goalscorer at 12/1 (Sky Bet)
1pt Virgil van Dijk to be shown a card at 5/1 (General)
0.5pt Jordan Pickford and Van Dijk to be carded at 24/1 (Ladbrokes, Coral)
0.5pt Mohamed Salah to be shown a card at 17/2 (BetVictor)
0.5pt Salah to score and be carded at 30/1 (BetVictor)
Just as Arne Slot required some respite, he must take his injury hit team to Liverpool Docks for the first Merseyside derby at Hill Dickinson Stadium.
The Reds showed plenty of fight in midweek, battling away in the driving rain as Alexander Isak's underwhelming return ended after 45 minutes and Hugo Ekitike suffered what appeared to be a serious, long-term Achilles injury.
Ultimately, though, they lost 2-0 on the night and 4-0 on aggregate to a ruthless PSG team who will take some stopping as they target back-to-back Champions League titles.
What is left of this Liverpool squad head across the city to take on an Everton side revitalised under David Moyes this term, sitting eighth in the Premier League table and able to move within two points of their rivals with victory on Sunday.
Victory for the Blues in this fixture is rare. Only twice in 33 outings have they emerged victorious, although both of those have come since 2021.
This isn't a match where the 1x2 appeals greatly and quite honestly I'm close to giving up on Liverpool (in all manners) in that market this season. It is tempting to back Everton at 9/4 but with derbies being notorious for going against form, it's another uncertainty I'd rather avoid.
Relying on the consistency of what tends to be a tight, hard-fought fixture is what I prefer to build my staking plan around.
Six of the last eight and 12 of the last 17 derbies have seen BOTH TEAMS TO SCORE 'NO' land, which makes the general 6/5 a bet.
During that same long span of meetings there have been four goalless draws, with another three games settled by a single goal. The longshot NO GOALSCORER is priced at 12/1 with Sky Bet and worth taking to small stakes.
Six of Liverpool's last eight and four of Everton's last six matches have seen BTTS 'no' win, with each experiencing two 0-0 draws so far this term.
Another unsurprisingly common trait in this fixture is cards.
Since fans returned to stadiums for the 2021/22 season there have been 49 cards (including three reds) in nine Merseyside derbies, an average of 5.44 per game. Only once has there been fewer than four, with 7+ on three occasions.
Maybe I'm being too cute and you'd be better off playing it safe with a couple of the short-priced players, but I can't resist backing MOHAMED SALAH TO BE SHOWN CARD at 17/2 in what will be his final Merseyside derby.
We can rely on any manner of ways for the Egyptian King to go in Chris Kavanagh's notebook, as the frustration of what has been a woeful final season at Anfield hopefully boils over into some pettiness.
The gold standard is for him find the net and whip his shirt off or enter the crowd in celebration, which is why I'm willing to back him TO SCORE AND BE CARDED and an enormous 30/1.
Andy Robertson is another bowing out from this fixture and were he a certain starter I'd be taking the 4/1 for him to go in the book, so watch out for team news. The Scotland captain has been booked in three of his last seven starts against Everton.
Finally, JORDAN PICKFORD and VIRGIL VAN DIJK are backed in a CARD DOUBLE that is around 20s in various places, with the Liverpool captain also taken on his own at 5/1.
VAN DIJK has been booked in three of his four visits to Everton since a horror challenge from Pickford in October 2020 left him with a serious knee injury.
Pickford's card price has been cut in painfully short, but for good reason - not just because of the anticipation associated with this fixture.
The England goalkeeper was prolific when it came to bookings last season, picking up eight in his first 40 games of the campaign. At the turn of the year he finally ended a 32-game cardless streak and seems to have realised what he was missing out on, picking up four bookings in his last 12 Everton games.
Those four cards have come in two draws, one defeat and one win. Two away games, two home games. One for a foul, one for dissent and two for time wasting - both of which came in the drawn matches.
The card double therefore makes more sense rather than tying Pickford to the 1x2 to boost the price.
Odds correct at 11:35 BST (16/4/26)
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