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With Liverpool, sitting in 18th place in the English Premier League with a measly six points and Everton just one spot ahead of them with sis as well it looks like the 214th edition of ‘The Friendly Derby’ might be one of the worst ever, at least on paper.  If you add into the mix all of the injured players, especially at Everton, and the chaos surrounding the sale of Liverpool that theory looks to be a good one.

But generally when these two teams get together for the Merseyside Derby it doesn’t matter how poorly they’ve been doing it’s usually a hard-fought intense affair. This game at Everton’s Goodison on Park on Oct. 18th will hopefully follow in that tradition.

The ownership may be a distraction for Liverpool, but it shouldn’t be used as an excuse for their lousy play. The players and manager Roy Hodgson have been well below par during the first seven games of the EPL season and a home loss to newly-promoted Blackpool has been their low point thus far.

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Liverpool got some good news this week when it looked like the ownership mess has finally been cleaned up and key striker Fernando Torres is supposedly healthy and ready to go. On the downside, striker Dirk Kuyt looks to be out for a few weeks and defender Daniel Agger will probably miss the game.

Everton has also started off the season in poor form and some of that is due to injuries. However, manager David Moyes is another in the long line of EPL bosses who doesn’t field his best 11 when he has the chance to. Everton will be without midfielder Marouane Fellaini and it looks like Steven Pienaar, Jack Rodwell, Victor Anichebe, Phil  Jagielka, and Louis Saha could also possibly miss the game. Liverpool has won three and drawn two of the last five Merseyside Derbies.

Everton vs Liverpool Betting Odds and Prediction

This is a huge game for both teams, be it a derby or not. Liverpool has more on the line here and so does Hodgson. With new ownership coming in he has to prove the last crew didn’t make a huge mistake by hiring him. Because of the slew of injuries Everton are facing, we’ll go with a 2-1 Liverpool win here.

Sportsbook William Hill has the odds of an Everton win at 6/4 with a Liverpool victory at 19/10 and a draw at 21/10. The odds of a 2-1 win for Liverpool are 10/1.