Everton face Liverpool in the 245th instalment of the Merseyside derby on Saturday, and the final one to be played at Goodison Park.
A fixture that has been played continuously in the top flight since the 1962-63 season, this is one of the biggest in the English football calendar, and means absolutely everything to supporters on both sides.
Few cities in Europe have produced two clubs with such illustrious honours lists, with 28 league titles and 13 FA Cups between them, Liverpool have also won six European Cups, and 10 League Cups, and remain one of the most successful clubs in England, with Everton a few places below them in sixth in terms of major honours.
Here, Sports Mole looks back at the very lengthy history between the two bitter, but often friendly, rivals from this footballing hotbed.
© Imago
Head-to-head record
Previous meetings: 244
Everton wins: 68
Draws: 77
Liverpool wins: 99
While Everton are among the most historically successful clubs in English football, their record in recent decades against their more illustrious neighbours Liverpool leaves a lot to be desired.
There was very little to separate the sides in the head-to-head record during the early 1900s, the inter-war period, and shortly after, before 1953, when they did not share a division for almost a decade.
Everton enjoyed some success in the 1960s, and won a league title in 1970, before Liverpool dominated English and European football for the next decade and a half, until both were hugely competitive as the two major forces in the country during the mid-1980s.
In 1984, Liverpool won the title, but both sides won a domestic cup, before they alternated first and second in the First Division between 1985 and 1987.
It was in 1984-85 when Everton last completed a league double over their neighbours, with two 1-0 wins coming after a victory of the same scoreline in the Charity Shield that season.
The following season was the most thrilling as both won at their rival's stadium, but it was ultimately gut-wrenching for Everton, as they missed out on both the league and cup to Liverpool, losing the title late in the season before losing 3-1 in the FA Cup final thanks to Ian Rush's double.
Cup games between the two have often been the most notable, and there have been plenty of mammoth encounters between them over the years.
Liverpool beat Everton in the final of the 1984 League Cup, with Graeme Souness scoring the only goal in a replay, before the FA Cup success two years later.
The red half of Merseyside repeated the trick in 1989 too, with Rush scoring twice again in a topsy-turvy 3-2 win after extra time at Wembley, just weeks after the Hillsborough disaster which cost the lives of 97 Liverpool fans.
Possibly the greatest ever Merseyside derby came in the 1991 FA Cup though, as a fourth round tie at Anfield saw the sides draw 4-4, with Everton coming from behind on four occasions, and ultimately resulting in Kenny Dalglish's resignation as manager.
Since then, and during the Premier League era, Everton have not reached the same levels, and have played second-fiddle to Liverpool almost every year, winning just one major honour.
Another cup tie gave them an ever-lasting memory though, in the 2009 FA Cup fourth round tie which saw Dan Gosling score a 119th-minute winner under the lights at Goodison during a campaign that saw them reach the final, but fall agonisingly short to Chelsea.
Everton only lost one league game against Liverpool between the 1993-94 and 1999-00 seasons, but since then, there has been very little to look back on with fondness in this fixture for the blue half of the city.
© Imago
In the Premier League era, Liverpool have lost just 11 of the 64 meetings - winning 28, and they have still not suffered defeat at home to the Toffees in front of a home crowd since 1999.
Most of Everton's worst moments in the derby have all come this side of the millennium, including losing against 10 men on three separate occasions (2001, 2006 and 2010), being thrashed 4-0 twice (2014, 2016), going down in the 94th minute just a week before Christmas (2016), and having a joyous away end sing the name of your current much-maligned manager, Rafael Benitez, during a 4-1 home defeat in 2021.
None of those moments match the embarrassment suffered during two 1-0 defeats in 2018 and 2020 though.
The first of those defeats saw Divock Origi score one of the most bizarre goals in Premier League history, six minutes into injury time, after Jordan Pickford inexplicably bounced the ball back off his own crossbar and out, allowing the Belgian to score on the goal line to the utter dismay and disbelief of every onlooker.
In early 2020, Everton had just hired Carlo Ancelotti and would face Liverpool at Anfield in the FA Cup third round, but still lost 1-0 despite the Reds changing almost their entire XI and fielding numerous inexperienced teenagers, with a young Curtis Jones getting the winner on that occasion.
Between 2011 and 2020, Liverpool did not suffer defeat in 23 consecutive derbies, the longest unbeaten streak they have ever enjoyed against a single opponent in their history.
The closest Everton got to winning during that woeful run was in the most memorable Premier League fixture between the two early in the 2013-14 season when they drew 3-3 at Goodison Park, and a youthful Romelu Lukaku netted twice less than a month after joining the club, but an 89th-minute leveller from Daniel Sturridge salvaged a late point for Liverpool, who came very close to the title that season, while the Toffees also amassed 72 points in a fantastic campaign under Roberto Martinez.
All of that doom and gloom was forgotten about in April 2024 though, when Everton won one of the most important derby fixtures in many years, beating their rivals 2-0 to end Liverpool's title chances, while also ensuring they avoided relegation.
Last 20 meetings
Apr 24, 2024: Everton 2-0 Liverpool (Premier League)
Oct 21, 2023: Liverpool 2-0 Everton (Premier League)
Feb 13, 2023: Liverpool 2-0 Everton (Premier League)
Sep 03, 2022: Everton 0-0 Liverpool (Premier League)
Apr 24, 2022: Liverpool 2-0 Everton (Premier League)
Dec 01, 2021: Everton 1-4 Liverpool (Premier League)
Feb 20, 2021: Liverpool 0-2 Everton (Premier League)
Oct 17, 2020: Everton 2-2 Liverpool (Premier League)
Jun 21, 2020: Everton 0-0 Liverpool (Premier League)
Jan 05, 2020: Liverpool 1-0 Everton (FA Cup Third Round)
Dec 04, 2019: Liverpool 5-2 Everton (Premier League)
Mar 03, 2019: Everton 0-0 Liverpool (Premier League)
Dec 02, 2018: Liverpool 1-0 Everton (Premier League)
Apr 07, 2018: Everton 0-0 Liverpool (Premier League)
Jan 05, 2018: Liverpool 2-1 Everton (FA Cup Third Round)
Dec 10, 2017: Liverpool 1-1 Everton (Premier League)
Apr 01, 2017: Liverpool 3-1 Everton (Premier League)
Dec 19, 2016: Everton 0-1 Liverpool (Premier League)
Apr 20, 2016: Liverpool 4-0 Everton (Premier League)
Oct 04, 2015: Everton 1-1 Liverpool (Premier League)
Last 10 Premier League meetings
Apr 24, 2024: Everton 2-0 Liverpool (Premier League)
Oct 21, 2023: Liverpool 2-0 Everton (Premier League)
Feb 13, 2023: Liverpool 2-0 Everton (Premier League)
Sep 03, 2022: Everton 0-0 Liverpool (Premier League)
Apr 24, 2022: Liverpool 2-0 Everton (Premier League)
Dec 01, 2021: Everton 1-4 Liverpool (Premier League)
Feb 20, 2021: Liverpool 0-2 Everton (Premier League)
Oct 17, 2020: Everton 2-2 Liverpool (Premier League)
Jun 21, 2020: Everton 0-0 Liverpool (Premier League)
Dec 04, 2019: Liverpool 5-2 Everton (Premier League)
Andrew Delaney
