Liverpool’s match with Everton on Wednesday could be viewed as the most important fixture this season.
The match was originally scheduled to be played at the start of December, however, stormy conditions on Merseyside would see the game pushed back to this week.
A win for Liverpool would see Arne Slot’s men move nine points ahead of Arsenal in the Premier League standings and it has become even more important as the Merseyside club need to regain momentum after exiting the FA Cup to Plymouth at the weekend.
Liverpool will be without Joe Gomez for the contest at Goodison Park, while Trent Alexander-Arnold remains doubtful to play against the Toffees.
Slot is aware of the task he has in front of him when it comes to Everton and is aware of the ‘”worst thing” that could happen to his team when facing the Blues.
Liverpool can’t afford to go behind against Everton
In hindsight, the change of date has not worked out for Liverpool as Everton have looked like a new team ever since the arrival of David Moyes.
The Scottish coach has won his first three games in the Premier League and his team has made fast starts in their home matches against Tottenham and Leicester, going 2-0 ahead within the opening 30 minutes.
Moyes has a pragmatic style of play and his teams are known to be defensively solid, therefore, going behind against Everton could be a disaster for Liverpool, and Slot knows this.
Speaking to the press on Tuesday ahead of the Everton match, Slot stated that the “worst thing” that could happen to his team is that they go a goal behind.
“90 minutes of a game are very important, but the first 10-15 minutes, especially in an away game, it’s even more important not to go behind because the fans have even more emotions.
“It’s important to control the emotions of the crowd and the worst thing you can do is go behind because the emotions will be there until you have a two-goal lead.”
In addition to the Everton point of this argument, history shows that results do not go Liverpool’s way when they fall behind.
This increases the pressure for the Reds to take the lead in the contest at Goodison Park as they look to build a nine-point gap.
Liverpool have struggled when going a goal behind this season
When it comes to away games in the Premier League, Liverpool have gone behind against Arsenal, Newcastle and Nottingham Forest and have failed to win any of the three contests.
This has also happened in the Reds’ home games at Anfield, losing 1-0 to Nottingham Forest and drawing 2-2 with Man United after Lisandro Martinez gave the Manchester club the lead.
This is a notable weakness for the Premier League leaders and the outcome is likely again should Everton take the lead given the effort it takes to break down a Moyes team.
Trent Alexander-Arnold could be key to Liverpool’s success should the full-back make himself available for selection as the defender’s creativity would help open up Everton’s defence.
John Aldridge believes Slot has made a mistake ahead of Liverpool’s clash with Everton game, but the Dutch coach will hope that none are made in the early phases of the game at Goodison Park.
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