Premier League Big Match Focus: How to back an 11/1 Bet Builder in Liverpool v Everton

• Everton hope Dyche effect continues

• Liverpool clinging to home form

• Núñez looking to end nightmare run

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The second Merseyside derby of the season comes at a critical time forth Liverpool and Everton, who go into the meeting in differing moods.

Everton enjoyed a new manager bounce last weekend, stunning league leaders Arsenal with a 1-0 victory at Goodison Park. James Tarkowski's second-half goal was enough to secure the three points, though it wasn't enough to lift Sean Dyche's team out of the relegation zone.

It was a different story for Monday's opponents, who go into the game off the back of a third successive away league defeat. Liverpool's 3-0 loss at Wolves means they still haven't won in the Premier League in 2023, though they remain better at home than on the road.

Jekyll and Hyde Reds

The contrast between Liverpool's home and away form couldn't be much more stark. More than halfway through the season, Jürgen Klopp's men are averaging 2.1 points at home and just 0.8 on their travels.

Everton's return is a little more balanced, with 1.0 at home and 0.7 away after playing one more game than their neighbours. That home tally for the Toffees includes a goalless draw with Liverpool back in September.

If the home side want something to cling onto after their recent poor form, it's their home record in derbies. Just one of the last 22 at Anfield went the way of the visitors, though it was a relatively recent one - in February 2021, Carlo Ancelotti's Everton secured a 2-0 win which at the time brought them level on points with their opponents.

Goals at a premium

The Merseyside derby has ended goalless more than any other Premier League match-up. As well as the aforementioned clash earlier this season, there were stalemates at Goodison Park in 2018, 2019 and 2020.

Furthermore, just three of the last 11 meetings in all competitions have seen both teams find the net. Only one of the three was at Anfield, with a flurry of first-half goals setting up a 5-2 Liverpool win in December 2019.

Both teams have suffered runs of three games without scoring this season, with Everton's coming just before the break for the World Cup and Liverpool's coming, well, now. 3-0 losses at Brighton and Wolves came either side of a goalless draw with Chelsea, and fans may want to look away when it comes to finding the lat time they went four without scoring.

Between December 2020 and January 2021, Klopp's team were kept at bay by Newcastle, Southampton and Manchester United. The fourth game in the stretch saw them face a Sean Dyche team at Anfield, and an Ashley Barnes penalty was enough to settle the game in favour of Dyche's Burnley.

Liverpool's attacking woes

Last season, Mohamed Salah top-scored for Liverpool with 23 goals in the league, but the Egyptian international has just seven this term. Klopp has accepted the team's struggles have been reflected in Salah's struggles - a Boxing Day opener at Aston Villa is his only league goal since the World Cup - but there are also concerns over fellow forwards Cody Gakpo and Darwin Núñez.

January signing Gakpo impressed for the Netherlands in Qatar but has yet to get off the mark for his new club after joining from PSV Eindhoven. Núñez, meanwhile, will feel he is surely due a goal after his efforts over the last six weeks.

The Uruguay international has registered 22 shots and 10 shots on target since the World Cup, more than any other player without a Premier League goal in the period The former Benfica man did find the target against Wolves in the third round of the FA Cup against Wolves, but his last league goals came in a November victory over Southampton.

Liverpool v Everton prediction

If Salah gets a goal or an assist at Anfield on Monday, he will become just the 13th player in Premier League history to register 100 goals or assists at a single stadium. Only Alan Shearer and Thierry Henry will have hit the milestone quicker, and Salah's return of five goal involvements in eight games against Everton isn't bad at all considering how low-scoring these affairs tend to be.

We're looking at bet builders for this game, and the under 2.5 goals market looks tempting based on past form. Under 2.5 goals, Salah to score and assist and Núñez to register two or more shots on target (matching his average since the World Cup) can be backed at 11.77.