Everton stunned Liverpool in last Merseyside derby but Arne Slot won’t see red again | Football

Revenge is a dish best served cold was an ominous threat uttered by Don Vito Corleone in The Godfather but is generally accredited to Pierre Choderlos de Laclos, an 18th century French army general who preferred to be an author and notably wrote Dangerous Liaisons.

It’s just under two months since James Tarkowski smashed an unbelievable 98th-minute equaliser in the last Merseyside derby at Goodison Park, sending home fans into delirium and creating ructions on the pitch, so the Toffees best take heed of the proverb.

Referee Michael Oliver flashed red cards to Abdoulaye Doucoure, Curtis Jones, Reds manager Arne Slot and his assistant Sipke Hulshoff in the aftermath of the 2-2 draw – and bad blood will have lingered. 

Now the return match at Anfield is with us it’s time to go to the mattresses and prepare for battle and it won’t take much for this to boil over, with both sets of fans baying for cards to be flashed left, right and centre.

Tim Robinson is a good appointment to be the man with the whistle as according to the Premier League app, he has shown just one red card in 11 top-flight matches this season while giving out 54 yellows. 

That’s some way off the pace set by Oliver, who has sent off six players and dished out 97 bookings in 21 games, while Robert Jones has also given half-a-dozen players an early finish while showing yellow to 75 players in 17 matches.

Robinson is unlikely to show a red card unless it is absolutely necessary and the number of yellows is unlikely to be excessive, so take under 4.5 cards at 11/10 with StarSports.

Liverpool will have been thankful for the international break after losing to Newcastle in the Carabao Cup final and being eliminated from the Champions League by Paris Saint-Germain, having already exited the FA Cup in more embarrassing circumstances at Championship basement-boys Plymouth Argyle.

Now they will be seeking to regain the swagger which put them 12 points clear at the top before the Premier League’s halt in play.

Everton are 15th in the table, 17 points clear of the bottom three, and are unbeaten in their last nine league games, with five draws in their last six as David Moyes continues to do a sterling job in his second stint in charge. 

They will be a tough nut to crack and while the Reds, who will be missing the injured, Real Madrid-bound Trent Alexander-Arnold, may be triumphant it won’t be by much. A 2-1 win is 17/2 with bet365 and the Toffees plus two goals is 3/4 in BoyleSports’ and Betway’s handicap markets.

• FA Cup semi-finalists Crystal Palace can return to Premier League action with a bang by sending Southampton to a 25th defeat in 30 Premier League matches. 

The Eagles are flying high with 22 points from the last 30 available, a record only bettered by Liverpool, and they have won their last six away games in all competitions without conceding a goal.

Palace are 4/6 to win outright with Betfred and 7/4 with the same firm, bet365 and Sky Bet to win while keeping a clean sheet.

• Constitution Hill can return to winning ways following his shock defeat when falling four from home in the Champion Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival by beating Lossiemouth in the Aintree Hurdle on the first day of this week’s Grand National meeting.

Nicky Henderson’s stable star won the same race when jumping well to beat Sharjah by a comfortable three lengths 12 months ago and is 8/11 with bet365.

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