Liverpool vs. Everton: What Arne Slot should expect in Anfield Merseyside Derby as boss faces midfield selection dilemma

Everton are in their best shape heading to Anfield in years and will pose a considerable challenge for Liverpool, Reds expert David Lynch has insisted.

Arne Slot's side have won all four of their Premier League games so far and are top of the table, but they will face a stern test on Saturday against rivals Everton.

The Toffees are sixth in the table with seven points and have posed more of an offensive threat this season, with the likes of Jack Grealish helping add a creative spark this season.

Speaking to Sports Mole, Lynch argued that David Moyes's visitors will be more of a challenge than in prior campaigns, saying: "This is a much better Everton side than Liverpool have faced over the last few years. David Moyes is an absolutely brilliant manager - you saw it immediately.

"He comes to Everton and turns them around almost immediately. He's very good at what he does. One thing to note is that his Anfield record is not fantastic, but you look at the way that Everton are playing and I see confidence among their fans, which is not always the case when they come to Anfield. It's a dangerous team."

Grealish won the Premier League Player of the Month for August and has racked up four assists in the competition so far this season.

Should Alexis Mac Allister remain on the Liverpool bench?

Liverpool beat Atletico Madrid 3-2 on Wednesday at Anfield, with Slot starting a double pivot consisting of Ryan Gravenberch and Dominik Szoboszlai.

The Dutch boss may have been tempted to field Alexis Mac Allister in the middle of the pitch, but the Argentine missed much of pre-season due to injury and has struggled with fitness in 2025-26.

Lynch suggested that it may be better to take Mac Allister out of the firing line for the time being, when he told Sports Mole: "I was surprised actually Slot didn't [bench him] at Burnley. I thought that was going to be the change he made to bring Bradley back in and put Szoboszlai in midfield.

"If you want to look after Mac Allister, one way to go about it is to give him a couple of games off, or to dip him in and out over these next games and stick Bradley in at right-back.

"Bradley proved when he came on at Turf Moor that he's definitely going to deserve some starts. Frimpong was crucial to the goal and did well, so that competition at right-back is incredible."

Mac Allister was also the subject of a hard tackle on his ankle from Lesley Ugochukwu against Burnley, so perhaps it would be better for him if he was eased back into the first team slowly.

Where could the Merseyside derby be won or lost?

There are concerns that Everton could take advantage of the Reds' defence, especially as they have surrendered two-goal leads three times this season already.

It should be noted that substitutes have consistently made impacts for Liverpool, so perhaps Slot's best avenue to three points is through the use of his bench.

Lynch questioned whether Everton have the capacity to take advantage of the Reds' vulnerabilities while also restricting Liverpool's attack, telling Sports Mole: "One thing Everton will worry about is whether they can make it pay because obviously they had that 0-0 draw against Aston Villa at the weekend.

"I was talking to Leon Osman at Turf Moor at the weekend and he said that's the one issue, that Everton played well, but they just couldn't score the goals - they don't have a striker who can consistently do it.

"The strength and depth throughout the Liverpool squad is unbelievable. There's some really difficult choices for the manager, not ones I would like to predict, because it's so difficult, though I did have a conversation with someone at Liverpool who said they expect more rotation this season."

Alexander Isak started against Atletico Madrid, but while he may not be fit enough to start on Saturday, he could still make an impact in the second half.