Liverpool vs. Everton lineups: Confirmed starters for the Merseyside Derby
Liverpool and Everton have strong squads available for the Merseyside Derby, despite injury trouble
Everton were only expected to be missing one player, but a couple of their other first team regulars with knocks are not available for this game. Ross Barkley is out as expected, but Seamus Coleman and Steven Pienaar haven't made the bench. Sylvain Distin also misses out.
All of Jon Flanagan, Glen Johnson, Joe Allen and Emre Can are missing for Liverpool, while Jordan Henderson is coming back from a thigh injury, though he's passed fit to start. Daniel Sturridge was expected to return from injury for this game, but has not made the 18-man squad.
The Toffees’ lineup is a defensive one, with Muhamed Besic playing in place of what would usually be an attacking midfielder. Liverpool are fast and direct, with Lazar Markovic getting a start. The shape isn’t obvious, and depends on what kind of role Adam Lallana will be playing.
Confirmed Liverpool XI (4-2-3-1): Simon Mignolet; Alberto Moreno, Dejan Lovren, Martin Skrtel, Javier Manquillo; Steven Gerrard, Jordan Henderson; Adam Lallana, Raheem Sterling, Lazar Markovic; Mario Balotelli
Confirmed Everton XI (4-3-3): Tim Howard; Leighton Baines, Phil Jagielka, John Stones, Tony Hibbert; Muhamed Besic, Gareth Barry, James McCarthy; Steven Naismith, Romelu Lukaku, Kevin Mirallas
This post was updated to reflect the release of confirmed lineups.
