Liverpool against Everton is never just another football match. It is war painted in red and blue, it is families divided, it is a city that holds its breath for ninety minutes. And this weekend, Anfield is the stage for the first Merseyside derby of the new season. The story is already dramatic enough, but then came the injury updates, the whispers about fitness doubts, the confirmation from Arne Slot that his record-breaking striker Alexander Isak may not be ready to go the distance. Add in the other players who could miss the game and suddenly this derby is carrying even more weight than usual.
Liverpool arrive at this battle sitting proudly at the top of the Premier League table. They are the reigning champions, the team that refuses to be beaten, the team that somehow always finds a way. Slot’s men have played four league matches so far, and each time the pattern has been the same — drama, late goals, heart-stopping finishes, but always three points. Against Atletico Madrid in the Champions League the story was repeated, a tight game, nerves everywhere, but in the end Liverpool walked away winners. This resilience is what has kept them top, and this resilience is what makes them favourites going into the derby.
But Everton are not arriving at Anfield to play the role of victims. Under David Moyes, the Blues have started the season strongly. They lost on opening day, but since then they have found their rhythm with two wins and one draw. They are hovering just outside the top four, and a victory against Liverpool would bring them within touching distance of the leaders. More than that, it would give them bragging rights across the city, a feeling that Everton fans have been desperate for after years of Liverpool dominance.
And so the stage is set. The leaders against the challengers. The champions against the underdogs. The noise of Anfield against the defiance of Goodison Park. Yet even before a ball is kicked, both teams have reasons to be nervous. Injuries, doubts, and the physical demands of a long season are already beginning to show.
The biggest story, without question, is Alexander Isak. Liverpool fought all summer for him. They broke the British transfer record, they endured a saga that dragged across months, they dealt with Newcastle United’s stubborn refusal and the striker’s silent rebellion. Isak wanted Liverpool so badly that he refused to play, effectively going on strike to force the move. That decision cost him his pre-season, cost him fitness, cost him sharpness. Finally, on Wednesday night against Atletico, Liverpool fans got their first proper look at him in red.
He started, he played 58 minutes, and he looked like a striker who will terrify defenders once he is fully ready. His movement, his touch, his intelligence — it was all there. But when he came off, replaced by Hugo Ekitike, there was already a sense that he had given everything he had in the tank. He is still finding his rhythm, still recovering from months without full football. And so when Arne Slot was asked if Isak would play the full ninety against Everton, his answer was a warning.
“I don’t think I tell the media a lot the day before the game, how we start the game,” Slot said with a smile, but then came the serious part. “We had recovery yesterday, we’re going to train this afternoon. What I do know is that Alex did feel his body more than ever before after the minutes that he played. So let’s see how he recovers. Then we’re going to think about the line-up.”
The message was clear. Alexander Isak will not play ninety minutes. The question is not whether he will finish the game, the question is whether he will even start it. For Liverpool fans, this is both a worry and a hope. Worry, because they want their new hero on the pitch from the first whistle. Hope, because even if he plays just part of the game, his presence could still make the difference in a derby where moments decide everything.
But Isak is not the only concern. Three players in total could miss this derby, and that adds even more drama to the build-up. For Liverpool, there are whispers of fatigue in the squad, knocks picked up in recent games, the kind of small details that can tilt a derby one way or the other. For Everton, it is no different. Moyes has players he may not be able to risk, and in a game of this magnitude every absence feels like a wound.
Slot, however, has shown since arriving that he will not panic. He believes in his squad, he believes in the resilience they have shown in every match so far. If Isak cannot start, there is Ekitike waiting. If midfielders are tired, there is Curtis Jones ready to step back in after injury. Liverpool have options, Liverpool have depth, and Liverpool have the belief that no matter what happens, they will find a way.
Everton will look at the situation differently. They will see vulnerability. They will see a chance to strike at their rivals when their record signing is not fully fit. They will tell themselves that Liverpool’s late winners cannot continue forever, that sooner or later luck runs out, that this is their chance to shock the champions.
And so the derby takes on its usual intensity. It is not just about three points. It is about pride, about territory, about emotion. It is about the families in Liverpool where one brother wears red and the other wears blue, where Sunday dinner after the game will be a battle of words. It is about children at school who will either walk in smiling or walk in silent, depending on the colour of their shirt. It is about the pubs, the streets, the city itself, split in half but united in passion.
Injury updates might seem like details in another game, but in a derby they are everything. They shape the mood, they change the tactics, they give one side hope and the other side nerves. Alexander Isak’s body language, whether he warms up with energy or with stiffness, will be watched by 50,000 eyes. Every Everton fan will cheer if he is not in the starting line-up. Every Liverpool fan will roar if his name is read out.
Saturday lunchtime at Anfield will not just be football. It will be theatre. The banners will wave, the songs will rise, and every tackle will be cheered like a goal. And at the heart of it will be the question: how much can Alexander Isak give? Can he start? Can he score? Or will his first taste of the Merseyside derby be from the bench, watching, waiting, learning what it means to be part of this ancient rivalry?
Whatever happens, one thing is certain. Injuries may shape the line-ups, fitness may shape the tactics, but once the whistle blows, it will be red against blue, passion against passion, Liverpool against Everton. And in this city, there is no bigger stor—
