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da doce： Everton can break out of their recent malaise when Liverpool come to visit this weekend.
Marco Silva’s side have been frustratingly inconsistent this season, with their 3-0 win over Cardiff City on Tuesday coming on the back of a run of three defeats against Wolves, Manchester City and Watford.
Yet there is a slim hope on the blue side of Merseyside that, as the old adage goes, form will fly out of the window when the old rivals come to town.
Everton have not won a derby game since 2010, when goals from Mikel Arteta and Tim Cahill gave the Toffees a 2-0 victory at Goodison Park.
Since then, the defeats have ranged from a 4-0 thumping in 2016 to a 1-0 loss at Anfield in December.
Across 18 meetings – including an FA Cup tie – Everton have lost nine times and also drawn nine.
There is a desperate desire, of course, to beat the Reds, particularly with Jurgen Klopp’s side attempting to win the Premier League title. A victory over Everton will see them solidify their position at the top of the tree.
The Toffees faithful have a major role to play in preventing that from happening.
Liverpool, of course, are favourites, but Goodison can be a cauldron when the big teams visit, the atmosphere ratcheting up to the point of disrupting the rhythm of the away side.
Everton’s best bet, then, is surely to make this a cup final, to roar themselves hoarse as their side attempt to get back into form. Naturally, the noise generated by the supporters will be imperative in creating a cup final feel to the occasion.
Klopp, it must be noted, does not perform well in finals.
He last won a major showpiece in 2012, as his brilliant Borussia Dortmund side thumped Bayern Munich 5-2 in the German Cup final.
Thereafter, Dortmund lost two more finals to Bayern, as well as the German Cup final to Wolfsburg in 2015.
Since joining Liverpool, he has seen the Carabao Cup, the Europa League and the Champions League slip through his fingers, most recently watching Loris Karius essentially throw two goals into his own net against Real Madrid.
Now, there is no trophy on the line this weekend but Toffees supporters need to ignite a cup-final atmosphere. Everton are still in the race for a Europa League qualification spot and can move to within a point of seventh-placed Wolves if results go their way.
Plus there is the carrot of potentially throwing a spanner in Liverpool’s title charge.
The Reds have lost just once all season – to City – but they remain just a point clear of Pep Guardiola’s men, who face AFC Bournemouth on Saturday. The Blues should, all things considered, win that fairly comfortably, a day prior to the derby.
Perhaps, then, this is a cup final for Liverpool. Following this game, there are encounters with Burnley and Fulham either side of a Champions League meeting with Bayern Munich. Klopp will be expecting to take six points.
This weekend’s encounter stands out as a potential banana skin due to the rivalry, rather than Everton’s form.
Supporters are clearly frustrated with the way the side are playing; they do not know which version of the Toffees is going to show up every game, after all. A prime example came earlier this season, as Everton responded to a 6-2 thrashing by Tottenham Hotspur by thumping Burnley 5-1. They are the definition of a Jekyll and Hyde side.
But if the fans and the team are both singing from the same hymn sheet, Everton could build a platform on which to build the remainder of their season.
Beating Liverpool is not the be all and end all at the club but it is mighty close. Win this weekend, and previous sins may well be forgotten.