Everton

David Moyes spoke to BBC Match of the Day after Everton's defeat against Liverpool: "We were much closer. The performance in second half warranted to get something but we gave too much in the first half."

On whether tackle on Iliman Ndiaye in lead up to first Liverpool goal was a foul: "I have not seen it again I couldn't be sure. I probably would have said it wasn't a foul but there is a lot of other things that I could have said, but I won't if you don't mind.

"The boys never gave up and showed a great deal of resilience."

On Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall booking for quick free-kick: "The bigger thing is the game seemed to be controlled by the referee, we couldn't start anything quickly. We couldn't play. I have had played plenty of games where teams have taken quick free-kicks and it hasn't been the referees' whistle.

"He never allowed us to get the game under way fast when we wanted to. I found it strange there was only three minutes [of stoppage time] . If Liverpool were 2-0 down I'm not sure if three minutes would have been put up."

Jack Grealish spoke to TNT Sports after the defeat at Anfield: "It was what I expected, coming here it was hostile, faster. I don't think we played well in the first-half, we came in a half-time and had a chat with the manager and then second half, we lost the game in the second half. Frustrating because if we had played like that, pressed like that from the start it would have been a different game. In the end we couldn't get that last goal.

"When I have watched them [Liverpool] this season they have been so good but there has been a few times they have gone 2-0 up and then conceded two, we had the belief. We got the one back, a great finish Idrissa [Gueye] but we couldn't get that last goal."

Did you know?

• David Moyes remains winless in all 21 of his Premier League games at Anfield (D6 L15) – the most games any manager has ever taken charge of at a ground in the competition without winning.

• Everton have won just 11 of their 67 Premier League games against Liverpool (D26 L30), a win rate of 16% - among sides they have faced 3+ times in the competition, only against Manchester United (15%) and Tottenham Hotspur (15%) do they have a lower win rate.

Whether you were at the game or following from elsewhere, we want to know what you learned.

Have your say on Liverpool's performance

What did you make of Everton's display?

Come back on Monday for a selection of your replies

Arne Slot has made one change to the Liverpool side who beat Burnley 1-0 on Sunday.

Conor Bradley comes in at right-back and Florian Wirtz drops to the bench.

Liverpool XI: Alisson, Bradley, Konate, Van Dijk, Kerkez, Gravenberch, Szoboszlai, Mac Allister, Gakpo, Salah, Ekitike.

Subs: Mamardashvili, Gomez, Endo, Wirtz, Isak, Jones, Robertson, Frimpong, Ngumoha.

Like Arne Slot, David Moyes has also made one change to his Everton side who drew 0-0 with Aston Villa at the weekend.

Tim Iroegbunam drops to the bench in place of Vitalii Mykolenko.

Everton XI: Pickford, O'Brien, Tarkowski, Keane, Mykolenko, Gueye, Garner, Ndiaye, Dewsbury-Hall, Grealish, Beto.

Subs: Travers, Patterson, McNeil, Barry, Dibling, Coleman, Alcaraz, Aznou, Iroegbunam.

There are seven games in the Premier League on Saturday and BBC Sport will bring you every moment.

• Liverpool v Everton (12:30)

• Brighton v Tottenham - listen on BBC Radio 5 Live

• Burnley v Nottingham Forest

• West Ham v Crystal Palace

• Wolves v Leeds

• Manchester United v Chelsea (17:30) - listen on BBC Radio 5 Live

• Fulham v Brentford (20:00)

Kick-off times 15:00 BST unless stated

Follow all of the action and reaction here

Matthew Hobbs
BBC Sport journalist

Liverpool host Everton in the Merseyside derby at Anfield aiming to extend a perfect record of four wins from their opening four Premier League games.

David Moyes is yet to win at Anfield in all 22 career matches as a manager.

BBC Sport examines some of the key themes to analyse whether that could change on Saturday.

Liverpool's late show continues

Liverpool maintained their 100% winning record thanks to Virgil van Dijk's injury-time winner against Atletico Madrid on Wednesday, with all five of their victories earned thanks to goals from the 83rd minute onwards.

Head coach Arne Slot said after the game that fitness was part of the reason for his team's remarkable record, adding "our mentality is we will always push". But are the champions more vulnerable this season?

The win against Atletico was the third time this season the Reds have let a two-goal lead slip and although they have recovered to win those matches, it will give encouragement to opponents that they remain in the game – and Everton may need all of the help they can get at Anfield come Saturday lunchtime.

Moyes' Anfield woes

The Toffees are yet to win away to Liverpool this century in a match in which the Kop contained supporters. Their only triumph in the past 25 years came during the Covid pandemic in 2021 under the stewardship of Carlo Ancelotti.

Moyes, meanwhile, has failed in all 22 attempts to win a game at Anfield with any club. He has travelled with Everton 13 times, losing on six occasions.

So why could that record change on Saturday? Moyes' most commonly used formation at Anfield has been 4-2-3-1 – which is the same tactical set-up which has been implemented so effectively this season.

The biggest difference has been Everton's summer of successful signings in which nine new players have been brought in at a record net spend of £97m.

Everton have played on the front foot in wins over Brighton and Wolves this season, while they were unfortunate to draw with Aston Villa last weekend after wasting a host of golden chances.

Having ranked 18th for goals from open play in the Premier League in 2024-25, scoring just 25, the Toffees have attacked with aplomb this season.

History suggests that Moyes tends to be more pragmatic away to the biggest sides and in Everton's last 10 visits to Anfield under the Scotsman over the past 20 years, the Toffees have scored a total of just five goals, converting only 6.7% of their chances.

They are statistics that must surely improve if Everton are to secure an evasive derby win.

Will an early or late goal win the game?

For all of Liverpool's domination of this fixture on home soil, derbies on Merseyside tend to be tight, wherever they're played.

On the last eight occasions that Everton and Moyes have visited their neighbours, there have been four draws and three games settled by a single goal.

There is also a sense that despite Liverpool's formidable firepower, they are more vulnerable than in recent seasons.

And while Slot's men sit top of the Premier League table, they have been reliant on late goals, meaning Everton have actually led for 26 minutes more in the Premier League this season – and an early goal could be crucial at Anfield.

All five of Everton's league goals have come in the first 55 minutes of games, including three in the opening half hour, while Liverpool are yet to go behind.

If Moyes' men can take, and maintain, an early lead, they must also withstand the inevitable barrage late on at Anfield - Liverpool have scored 47 winners after the 90th minute in the Premier League era, at least 13 more than any other team.

Everton have started the season well. Jack Grealish has given them that creative spark on the ball and Beto is a tireless runner up front.

On top of that, you know David Moyes will make them hard to break down too.

Liverpool left it late again against Atletico Madrid on Wednesday and I do wonder how much that game will have taken out of them.

They still have plenty of options in their squad and, while they haven't been at their best, they keep on finding a way to win. That's what I think will happen again here.

Sutton's prediction: 2-0

Read the full predictions and have your say here

Millie Sian
BBC Sport journalist

Everton boss David Moyes has been speaking to the media before Saturday's Premier League game against Liverpool at Anfield (kick-off 12:30 BST).

Here are the key lines from his news conference:

• Jarrad Branthwaite and Vitalii Mykolenko are "making progress", after picking up a hamstring issue and a groin injury respectively, so their availability will be assessed.

• There are also "a couple of other knocks in camp" but he didn't expand on who had been affected.

• On if Michael Keane's recent performances have given him a bit of a headache at centre-back: "I hope the players I give the opportunities to can hang on to their jersey. Michael has done great for us in the games he has played, so long may that continue."

• He admitted that he does not particularly enjoy Merseyside derbies as a manager, stating: "This has always been an incredibly difficult fixture for me because I've always come up against really good Liverpool teams. I think it's easier if you're the team that has the stronger squad, but we're up against it so we have to go there and fight for everything."

• However, he sees the positive in the fixture being early on in this season's calendar because it will give the squad "a chance to see where we are against certainly one of the top teams".

• He praised Arne Slot's impact at Anfield: "He has done a brilliant job. They have gone out and bought some top players, which has strengthened them again. They have definitely looked to improve even more than last season."

• While accepting Liverpool are "entitled to spend" after winning the Premier League and competing in the Champions League, Moyes highlighted: "They have spent more on one player than we have our whole squad. I don't think that's our biggest issue though, but it's just having that realism about where both clubs are at the moment."

• He also noted the Reds have shown "some vulnerability" in conceding goals this season so the Toffees' plan is to "try to take advantage" of those moments, adding: "We played them last year at Anfield and lost to an offside goal, so we want to try to run them close again and maybe this time it will go in our favour."

• On the motivation for his players: "We certainly want to get away from the position we have been in over the last few years."

• Moyes said his vision is to "play better, win more often and challenge all the big teams".

Follow all of Friday's Premier League news conferences and the rest of the day's football news

Listen to more from Moyes on BBC Sounds

Image source, Getty Images

Wayne Rooney said he "hated" Merseyside derbies during his time at Everton.

The former England captain played seven times against the Reds, six in the Premier League and once in the FA Cup but was never on the winning side.

Speaking on the Wayne Rooney Show, Rooney said: "I hated it. The build up to the game, the whole week, was horrible. Being around the training ground, and as an Evertonian, getting ready and preparing for the game and all the staff around the training ground who are Evertonians.

"You feel sick because you're just thinking, if you lose the game again, Liverpool will rub it in your face.

"And when I actually went back the second time to Everton, I got all the TVs turned off so there was nothing on about the game, just to try and forget about it that week really and go into the game not worrying too much about it.

"It's a massive game and a game, if you win, there's no better feeling.

"I actually never won a derby. I think I played seven derbies, and I didn't win any. So I've never experienced it."

Listen to the full episode over here

Giulia Bould
BBC Radio Merseyside reporter

On our 'Ask about Everton' form, we received a question asking why Everton's academy has not been particularly profitable in recent years.

BBC Radio Merseyside's Giulia Bould gives her thoughts below.

The Everton academy under David Moyes during his first spell was a hive of talent.

The likes of Wayne Rooney, Ross Barkley, Leon Osman and Tony Hibbert all came through its ranks but in recent years, it has failed to find many players.

Tom Davies, now at Championship Sheffield United, made it to the senior side while Anthony Gordon, who went to Newcastle in an acrimonious departure, is probably the most high profile academy product for some time.

When Moyes returned in January 2025 he found the academy had been stripped of its identity as a result of financial problems and a revolving door of managers.

In April, Moyes told me his bigger plan was to get back into the youth ranks to create that bridge to the senior side once again.

"I have always wanted to know about the young boys and who is coming through," he said. "I hugely want to go and be proud of the academy

"There is nothing I want more than my under-18s and under-21s to be winning, being successful and be producing players."

"I think it is part of your job as a manager to develop them but there will be things we need to change in time."

Currently, Harrison Armstrong is the brightest prospect. Moyes rates the young midfielder who is now on-loan at Preston and there is a feeling he will be a key part of Everton's first team going forward.

The other issue for the academy has been its failure to find an adequate right-back, adding to the issues replacing 36-year-old Seamus Coleman.

Roman Dixon came close but after making his debut at Spurs in August 2024, he fell out of favour quickly and was in the under-21 team that won the Liverpool Senior Cup this May, playing against community club, Lower Breck.

Now, after surgery and what looks to be a lengthy period of recovery, the right-back is unlikely to feature at all in the first team this season.

Ask Me Anything is a service dedicated to answering your questions.

We want to reward your time by telling you things you do not know and reminding you of things you do.

Find out more here

Mike Richards
Fan writer

Image source, PA Media

The dread and anxiety that occupies an Evertonian's mind during derby week is all too familiar and seemingly never subsides from season to season.

So often, we take the still relatively short trip in hope rather than expectation, with the apparent curse that encases our once home still very much alive.

With the manager's appalling record at Anfield - combined with the club's - you would be forgiven for thinking this weekend's renewal of rivalries will go the same way as so many others in recent times.

However, this Everton feels far removed from many of those sides that have gone before.

It may simply be misplaced enthusiasm and early-season vigour, but indications point to an Everton side that carries serious attacking threat, with a sprinkle of genius thrown in for good measure.

Given the newly acquired attacking talents of Jack Grealish and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, combined with the fleet-footed and ever-dangerous Iliman Ndiaye, there is a belief this Everton attack can ask questions of most, if not all sides in the league.

We have looked for a moment of magic or piece of individual brilliance at Anfield on so many occasions - and on so many occasions we have simply fallen short.

Defeat has so often felt inevitable after falling behind, but now that is not the case.

Saturday's outcome will not define our season. Our opponents have spent £450m in one transfer window, which simply cannot be ignored.

Fans are not getting carried away - and the hype train certainly has not left the station - but there is a restored belief among fans that we are a club moving in the right direction.

Whether it will be enough on Saturday remains to be seen, but when fans and players are aligned, magical things can happen.

Find more from Mike Richards at Unholy Trinity, external

Everton may enter the free transfer market for a full-back if their injury problems continue. (Football Insider), external

They considered a move for Sergio Reguilon over the summer alongside West Ham and Nottingham Forest, with the 28-year-old Spain full-back a free agent after leaving Tottenham.

Want more transfer stories? Read Wednesday's full gossip column

Follow the gossip column on BBC Sport

Briony Bragg
Fan writer

Image source, Getty Images

At the end of match four last season, Everton were at the bottom of the Premier League with zero points after four straight defeats.

So to be on seven points, feeling incredibly disappointed for the draw with Aston Villa (who had beaten us 3-2 last year after we were two goals up) shows the enormity of the progress that has been made in such a short space of time.

Villa may be on a disappointing run at the moment, but on paper they are a great team, littered with international players with a fantastic manager. It really is just that lack of quality up front holding Everton back.

Beto, for all his hard work, looks like he will never be without his faults, and Thierno Barry is much still a work in progress. It was good to see Merlin Rohl get his first minutes in, and though they were not utilised, some good options on the bench in Tyler Dibling and Carlos Alcaraz will likely be used for the Carabao Cup game at Wolves in a couple of weeks.

It really was a much better performance than that produced against Brighton, in a game which the Toffees won 2-0.

This is a different type of Everton, who are not trying to hang on to the point in these types of games but who continue to push for the win, and realistically - just play to win.

It sounds bizarre but it is something we have not seen for years. Our previous form at Goodison Park was testament to that.

If the team continue to play in this manner, we are in for a great season.

Everton will rebuff any approaches for Jarrad Branthwaite in 2026, with the centre-back part of a long-term project at the club. (Talksport), external

Want more transfer stories? Read Tuesday's full gossip column

Follow the gossip column on BBC Sport

We asked for your thoughts after Saturday's Premier League game between Everton and Aston Villa.

Here are some of your comments:

Everton fans

Steve: Another good performance, creating quite a few great chances, unfortunately we do not have a centre-forward who will take these chances! Beto just isn't good enough - his finishing is woeful! I'm not convinced Thierno Barry will be any better. I would have taken a punt on Jamie Vardy.

Greg: We did OK but we miss the killer instinct. Should have got Vardy for a season. He would have scored but it's a work in progress. Most players played really well. Idrissa Gueye is unbelievable. Thought David Moyes may have given Tyler Dibling 20 minutes. Save him for next week.

Lee: The perils of not getting a striker in. Beto does his best but should have finished at least two of those chances! Two points dropped in the end.

Blue: It shows how far we have come under Moyes that the result is slightly disappointing. Villa are a decent side and the miss early in the game could have changed everything, but it let us down. Michael Keane played really well, as did the rest, so we should grab the point and go again. It's only Liverpool next!

Villa fans

Matt: Another lacklustre display. Grateful to come away with a point. Starting to worry about where the goals are going to come from.

Peter: I am not sure where a win is coming from. I think the problem is midfield. If we do not get a win in our next home game I can see that we will be in a relegation fight. The truth is that the forwards are not getting enough chances. Delivery into the box is poor. There is no doubt that the players on the pitch on Saturday should be doing better.

Cassie: It's a game best forgotten, and Villa were lucky to have got a point. Emiliano Martinez saved Villa from a loss in a game of no creativity and no sign of improvement from our last match. Harvey Elliott must start the next game, and Ollie Watkins could find himself on the bench. Already, Villa are in a relegtion battle - not going to be a good season.

Adam: More fight and organisation about Villa. Martinez back to his best. Forward players were toothless. Unai Emery needs to stop shoe-horning John McGinn and Morgan Rogers into the team and have the nerve to drop one of them.

Pundits Ashley Williams and Shay Given join host Mark Chapman to bring you the action and talking points from Saturday's Premier League fixtures.

Watch on BBC iPlayer here

And listen back to full match commentaries on BBC Sounds:

• Everton 0-0 Aston Villa

• Newcastle 1-0 Wolves

• West Ham 0-3 Tottenham

Phil McNulty
Chief football writer

Image source, Getty Images

Everton and their supporters were left frustrated after dominating Aston Villa on Saturday but failing to turn superiority into another three points.

Beto is an honest trier as a striker and his attitude cannot be faulted, but he falls short of the class Everton require to turn the creation of Jack Grealish and Iliman Ndiaye into consistent end product.

The gifted pair probed throughout, with Beto holding his head in anguish when he wasted that big early chance, while Grealish's cross twice created chances for Michael Keane, his first header saved superbly by Emiliano Martinez. The defender could not stretch enough to turn in a second opportunity.

Everton, despite only securing a point, can take heart from the manner in which they exerted control over Villa, with 20 shots to six, that lack of finishing adding to the frustration around Hill Dickinson Stadium, although that was aimed mainly at referee Simon Hooper in a stop-start game.

It is also a sign of raised expectations at Everton that a draw was not regarded as satisfying result, but there was plenty to encourage manager David Moyes.

Everton boss David Moyes spoke to BBC Match of the Day after his side's draw with Aston Villa: "If anybody was going to win it, I thought it was us on our performance today. We did so many good things in the game, and we just couldn't get that finishing touch.

"I think a manager's job is to raise expectations, that is part of it, but everybody here is aware of where we came from. We are trying to recreate and rebuild in a new stadium.

"We just couldn't get that goal."

On Jack Grealish: "It is certainly making us more excited at the moment. Jack is giving us great balance and it is giving the whole team confidence. Hopefully, we can continue that."

On chances missed: "I have said many times we don't buy £70m strikers or whatever you might expect. We have two good centre forwards who are learning their trade. Beto has been fantastic, he got a couple of chances and didn't score.

"I don't know any strikers in the league who don't go through periods where they don't score."

Did you know?

• Everton (111) and Aston Villa (110) have featured in more 0-0 draws than any other sides in Premier League history.

• Only Everton vs Liverpool (12) has finished 0-0 in the Premier League more often than Everton vs Aston Villa, with today the ninth goalless draw between the sides in the competition.

Whether you were at the game or following from elsewhere, we want to know what you learned.

Have your say on Everton's performance

What did you make of Aston Villa's display?

Come back on Monday for a selection of your replies

Everton make one change to the side that started their 3-2 Premier League win at Wolves before the international break. Tim Iroegbunam comes in for the injured Vitaliy Mykolenko.

Everton XI: Pickford, Keane, Tarkowski, O'Brien, Iroegbunam, Gueye, Garner, Dewsbury-Hall, Grealish, Ndiaye, Beto.

Subs: Travers, Patterson, McNeil, Barry, Dibling, Coleman, Alcaraz, Rohl, Aznou.

Aston Villa make four changes to the side that lost 3-0 at home to Crystal Palace in the league before the international break.

Emiliano Martinez unsurprisingly returns in goal, while Emiliano Buendia, Lucas Digne and Lamare Bogarde also come in for Marco Bizot, Donyell Malen, Ian Maatsen and Evann Guessand.

Victor Lindelof, Harvey Elliott and Jadon Sancho all start on the bench.

Aston Villa XI: Martinez, Cash, Konsa, Mings, Digne McGinn, Tielemans, Buendia, Watkins, Bogarde, Rogers.

Subs: Bizot, Maatsen Proctor, Lindelof, Elliott, Torres, Malen, Sancho, Maatsen, Guessand.