Liverpool and Everton Meet in the Merseyside Derby Of Desperation

How far the mighty have fallen. Twenty-five years ago, the Merseyside derby was a key fixture in deciding whether Liverpool or Everton would lift the league title. In recent seasons, these games have been of more significance to Champion's League qualification than the title race.

On Sunday, perhaps for the first time in history, this most prestigious of matches will be nothing short of a relegation battle. After a desperate start to the season, Liverpool find themselves lingering in the bottom three with a paltry return of six points from seven games.

Everton have fared marginally less badly. Only goal difference separates them from their local rivals, and if Saturday's game between Wolves and West Ham ends in anything other than a draw, both Liverpool and Everton will find themselves in the relegation zone come kick off time at Goodison Park.

The Merseyside derby is always a marquee fixture but this Sunday's match has additional magnitude for all the wrong reasons. Everton's disappointing start to the season has been bizarre. The same squad which has consistently finished in the upper echelons of the Premier League seems to have suffered an abrupt loss of form and confidence.

Everton have traditionally been Premier League overachievers, punching well above their weight and even managing to break into the top four in one memorable season. There is some precedent for inconsistency and the team had a disastrous start last year before recovering well to finish the season strongly.

For Liverpool this is a much more unfamiliar situation. Their form has been erratic in the context of the club's Premier League ambitions but they have almost always managed to finish in the top four. Last season's failure to qualify for the Champion's League was a major disappointment but it is a long time since Liverpool experienced a mid table dog fight, let alone a fully fledged relegation battle.

There is nothing like a win over your closest rivals to turn a season around and one team could begin to emerge from the abyss on Sunday. A loss for either side would be nothing short of a disaster. The "club in crisis" monikor is up for grabs and both Liverpool and Everton will be desperate not to claim it.

Liverpool's off-field problems have been well documented. A change in ownership might life the mood at Anfield but nothing can be done to improve the playing squad until January and even then the mid season transfer window is notoriously difficult to do business in.

Roy Hodgson will basically have to do with what he has got for at least another two and a half months and the players currently at his disposal have been dismal in domestic matches. Liverpool fans might be focusing their wrath on the American owners but the team has repeatedly put in performances which could best be described as abject.

One of the major criticisms of Liverpool under Hodgson's predecessor was that they lacked quality in depth. This is not a problem the new manager has been able to address and the injury enforced absence of Fernando Torres and Dirk Kuyt will be a major concern. The prospect of David Ngog and Milan Jovanovic leading the line this weekend will not be giving the Everton defenders too many sleepless nights.

David Moyes will be without Steven Pienaar and Phil Jagielka which is a blow but unlikely to be an insurmountable problem in terms of team selection. His side took all three points from their last match away to Birmingham and might feel they have finally turned a corner. He still has the same set of players who recorded victories over Chelsea, Manchester United and Manchester City (twice) last season and will be desperate to get this campaign back on track with a win over Liverpool.

With the momentum from the win over Birmingham City and a fairly fit squad to choose from, Everton will feel they are the favourites for this fixture. Liverpool do have a tendency to pull the proverbial cat out the bag at pivotal points in their season such as this. Steven Gerrard can probably be relied upon to play like a man possessed and lady luck has tended to favour the red half of the city in recent derbies.

A draw could conceivably condemn both Liverpool and Everton to a week in the relegation zone and both sides will be desperate to pick up all three points. This might not be the most glamorous derby match in recent years but it could well be the most significant. The winner can look back at the start of the season as an aberration while the loser will be left staring into the abyss.