By Gary Fulcher, Daniel Rhodes and Mihail Vladimirov.

Liverpool return to league action with the meaty prospect of the 189th Merseyside derby at Goodison Park on Saturday lunch time – 12.45pm kick off . With the match being Roberto Martinez’s first Merseyside derby as Everton manager, and just three points separating Everton in 6th and the Reds in 2nd, it should be a typically feisty affair.

The Toffees began the campaign with three consecutive draws but have since won five, drawn two and lost one of their last eight Premier League encounters, their only defeat being the 1-3 reverse they suffered at Manchester City. Everton were the draw specialists last season, ending the campaign with 15 stalemates, and their tally of five in 11 games so far this season is the joint highest in the league alongside West Bromwich Albion.

Speaking of draws, the corresponding fixture last season ended 2-2, with Luis Suarez controversially denied a stoppage time winner. A Leighton Baines own goal and a Suarez header put the Reds 2-0 after 20 minutes before goals from Leon Osman and Steven Naismith levelled matters before half-time. That 2-2 draw is only the fifth time in 21 matches that the two sides have shared the spoils at Goodison.

Only Arsenal – with eight victories – have won more Premier League games than our total of seven prior to this match, while only Manchester City (28) and Arsenal (22) have scored more goals than our tally of 21 to date.

Our Premier League record at Goodison reads:

• P: 21 W: 9 D: 5 L: 7 F: 27 A: 24 GD: +3 Pts: 32 (from a possible 63)

Our biggest victory at Goodison is 5-0 which came just over 21 years ago this month, when Ian Rush smashed four with a Mark Lawrenson strike sandwiched in-between Rush’s 2nd and 3rd strikes. Our heaviest defeat came during the 1908/09 season when Everton recorded a 0-5 victory.

Liverpool’s overall league record against Everton:

• Total – P: 188 W: 72 D: 59 L: 57 F: 256 A: 220 GD: +36
• Home – P: 94 W: 40 D: 31 L: 23 F: 142 A: 103 GD: +39
• Away – P: 94 W: 32 D: 28 L: 34 F: 114 A: 117 GD: -3

Liverpool’s record against teams managed by Roberto Martinez (all competitions):

• Total – P: 8 W: 3 D: 3 L: 2 F: 12 A: 6 GD: +6
• Home – P: 4 W: 2 D: 1 L: 1 F: 7 A: 4 GD: +3
• Away – P: 4 W: 1 D: 2 L: 1 F: 5 A: 2 GD: +3

The match-day officials for this fixture are:

• Referee: P Dowd
• Assistants:  M Mullarkey, D Cann
• Fourth Official: H Webb

TEAM NEWS

Sebastien Coates (knee), Jose Enrique (knee) and Iago Aspas (thigh) are absent through injury for the Reds.

Everton are missing Darron Gibson (ACL) and Arouna Kone (knee), while Antolin Alcaraz (hamstring) is a doubt.

Liverpool:

Goalkeepers: Mignolet, Jones, Ward
Defenders: Johnson, Kelly, Flanagan, Skrtel, Sakho, Toure, Agger, Ilori, Cissokho
Midfielders: Lucas, Gerrard (c), Coutinho, Allen, Henderson, Sterling, Luis Alberto, Ibe
Forwards: Suarez, Sturridge, Moses

Everton:

Goalkeepers: Robles, Howard, Springthorpe
Defenders: Hibbert, Baines, Heitinga, Jagielka (c), Distin, Coleman, Stones, Alcaraz
Midfielders: Oviedo, McCarthy, Barry, Gueye, Barkley, Osman, Pienaar, Kennedy, Lundstram
Forwards: Jelavic, Deulofeu, Mirallas, Naismith, Lukaku, Vellios

Derby day and HFSG in Perth, Australia:

We received an email from Paul Holliday in Perth, where all thoughts of The Ashes will be put aside on Saturday when the derby day charity game for the HFSG kicks off.