By Opta Analyst | Created at 2026-09-25 11:43:39 | Updated at 2026-09-25 13:53:22
3 hours ago
Can the Reds bounce back from a WSL defeat to the champions? We look ahead to Sunday’s Merseyside derby at Anfield with our Liverpool vs Everton prediction and preview.
Liverpool vs Everton: The Key Stats
- According to the Opta supercomputer, Liverpool are favourites to claim Merseyside derby bragging rights, winning 44.0% of the 10,000 simulations.
- Everton have won their last five WSL games at Liverpool, their joint-longest winning run away to an opponent in the competition.
- Liverpool were 3-2 winners against Everton in March, so they could win consecutive Merseyside derbies in the WSL for the first time since a run of three across 2013 and 2014.
Anfield will welcome Gareth Taylor’s Liverpool with plenty of excitement and anticipation for Sunday’s Merseyside derby with Everton on Sunday, particularly after they pushed champions Manchester City to the limit last weekend.
The Reds head into the derby with one win from their opening three Women’s Super League games, but the results don’t tell the full story of their start to the new campaign.
There have already been encouraging signs of the more ambitious and attacking side Taylor is trying to build, with the biggest transformation coming in attack.
Liverpool have already scored seven times in the WSL this season, more than they managed across their opening 10 matches last term (six). Excluding the 2017 Spring Series, it is their best goal tally after three games of a WSL campaign.
Everton sit just above their neighbours after taking six points from their opening three matches, but the league table masks an extraordinary start in front of goal.
The Toffees have taken 41 shots and generated 2.9 xG, though they are yet to see one of their own players score this season.
Both of Everton’s victories have come courtesy of own goals, making them the first team in WSL history to win two matches 1-0 via an own goal in the same season.
Their victory over Charlton was particularly remarkable. Everton attempted 13 shots without registering a single effort on target, and yet they still walked away with the win.
Everton are only the second team in WSL history to score fewer than three goals across their opening three matches of a season and still collect as many as six points, after Sunderland in 2017-18. It is also the Toffees’ best points return at this stage of a campaign since 2022-23 (also W2 L1).
It creates a fascinating contrast at Anfield, with Liverpool’s seven goals coming from 5.0 xG.
New signing Vivien Endemann has contributed to that. The Germany international became the first player in WSL history to both score and assist in two of her first three appearances in the competition. Only Khadija Shaw (5) can better her four goal involvements across the early weeks of 2026-27.
Endemann could join Caitlin Foord (6) and Alessia Russo (5) as the only players to register at least five goal involvements in their first four WSL appearances since 2020-21.
On top of improving Liverpool’s attacking potency, Taylor’s influence can also be seen in the way Liverpool are trying to win the ball back higher up the pitch, with only Chelsea (56) and Arsenal (44) recording more high turnovers than Liverpool (39) in the WSL this season.
That approach was evident even in defeat to City, as Liverpool became the first team since Everton in November 2025 to record 15+ high turnovers against City in a WSL match.
For a side who struggled for goals last season, the early signs suggest Taylor has not simply added more attacking quality, but is building a team more capable of controlling games higher up the pitch.
Liverpool vs Everton Head-to-Head
Liverpool may have won the last Merseyside derby, but recent history at Anfield has belonged to Everton.
The Toffees have won each of their last five WSL games at Liverpool, their joint-longest winning run away to a single opponent in the competition (also Aston Villa).
Indeed, Liverpool have lost eight of their nine WSL matches at Anfield, with their only victory coming against Manchester United in March 2025. Five of those eight defeats have come at the hands of Everton.
The Reds can take confidence from the most recent meeting, though as they ran out 3-2 winners at Everton in March. They could now record consecutive WSL victories over their neighbours for the first time since winning three in a row across 2013 and 2014.
Liverpool vs Everton Prediction
Despite Everton’s strong recent record at Anfield, Liverpool’s encouraging attacking performances under Taylor help make this a finely balanced Merseyside derby.
The Opta supercomputer gives Liverpool a 44% chance of victory, compared to Everton’s 29.1%. A draw occurred in 26.8% of simulations.
Liverpool vs Everton Predicted Lineups
Liverpool: Khiara Keating, Alexandra Bernabé, Grace Fisk, Jenna Clark, Sam Kerr, Fūka Nagano, Viviane Endemann, Natalia Ramos, Cornelia Kapocs, Alice Bergström, Beatta Olsson.
Head Coach: Gareth Taylor
Everton: Courtney Brosnan, Hikaru Kitagawa, Hannah Silcock, Naomi Layzell, Hannah Blundell. Ornella Vignola, Ruby Mace, Clare Wheeler, Hannah Cain, Holly McNamara, Rosa van Gool.
Head Coach: Brian Sørensen
Opta Power Rankings
The Opta Power Rankings are a global team ranking system that assigns an ability score to over 2,500 domestic women’s football teams on a scale between zero and 100, where zero is the worst-ranked team in the world, and 100 is the best team in the world.
Ahead of Sunday, here is the Opta Power Ranking for both sides.
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