Liverpool face Everton in the Merseyside derby tomorrow, don’t you know? Good job we haven’t got too many faces out, isn’t it…
Reds want Sevilla’s Ocampos
We’re already signing Sarr, Raphinha and Mbappe, so might as well add one more to the mix in attack, right?
The Reds are “willing to bid” for Sevilla’s wide forward Lucas Ocampos in the summer, says Spanish outlet La Razon.
An Argentina international, Ocampos is – to be fair – absolutely ******* brilliant: fast, strong, an absolute animal in one-v-one situations and a much more consistent player over the past two seasons.
He has a €65m release clause, though we’re not likely to go that high – and with Sevilla supposedly keen on Takumi Minamino, there could be a swap deal to be done.
Minor detail: he usually plays right side of their three, where a certain Mo Salah currently resides.
No Fabinho, Naby back, others en route
Liverpool have embarked on a one-game win streak recently.
Everton haven’t won at Anfield in over 20 years.
There’s really no comparison.
Still, we will have to field a team of fully fit (at kick-off, anyway) players to get the three points here – so there’s a boost with Naby Keita ready to go once again and we could see him on the bench after a long absence.
However, Jurgen Klopp says Fabinho isn’t yet in training, so he won’t be featuring against the blues. Milner and Jota are working their way back, but not close yet.
Elsewhere, Gomez and Van Dijk have finally teamed up together once more…albeit in rehab work, rather than on the pitch.
And lower down the food chain, Paul Glatzel is finally ready to put his injury nightmare behind him after returning from ankle ligament damage.
The boss and the build-up
There’s only one person we want to hear from in the lead-up to the derby: Liverpool’s title-winning manager Jurgen Klopp.
- The boss has lauded Alisson’s return to clean sheet habits after clocking up his 50th against Leipzig
- Klopp is also mystified at why Salah doesn’t get due praise from outside the club, as his on- and off-the-ball efforts are very much appreciated inside it
- Here’s every single word Klopp had to say in his pre-match press conference
Quickfire LFC news
- Jurgen Klopp hopes Ozan Kabak continues his good start to life as a Red (TIA)
- Serbian media say Marko Grujic has been told he has no future at the club and we’ll look to sell in summer (Sportske)
- Andy Robbo turned teacher for a day and some predictable hilarity ensued (TIA)
- And Rodrigo de Paul is keen on a €30m switch to the Reds from Udinese (SW)
Around the Prem
- Carlo reckons an empty Anfield is the perfect time to end Everton‘s seven thousand-year wait for an away win against the Reds (TIA)
- Bournemouth are set to sign Thierry Henry…as manager, not as Josh King’s replacement up front (Mirror)
- Chelsea want to swap Fikayo Tomori with Franck Kessie. Along the same lines, Liverpool should ask Barcelona for Frenkie de Jong in exchange for Nat Phillips and see how it goes (IM)
- And Man United, plus the Reds, have contacted Declan Rice’s agent about a move in summer. Might be best to ask West Ham nicely, too (Star)
Funny rumour of the day
James Rodriguez has had enough of Everton and wants out already. Probably not true, but still highlights the standing of the small side in the city!
Tweet of the day
Not quite Mbappe vs Pique, but thought Sadio Mané was really good in these situations against Leipzig ???? pic.twitter.com/zZ0mFmwG7x
— James Nalton (@JDNalton) February 19, 2021
Worth watching tonight
Fun watching will come from Cagliari vs Torino in Serie A at 7:45. If big(ger) names are more your thing, watch Lyon’s young guns attempt to trounce Brest in Ligue 1 at 8.
