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Despite their humbling at Plymouth Argyle on Sunday, the Reds will be huge favourites to extend their lead at the top of the Premier League to nine points with victory.

But while Everton's winning run came to an end at home to bogey side Bournemouth on Saturday, that streak still stands in the Premier League and there were positives from the cup defeat, namely the performances of Jack Harrison and new boy Carlos Alcaraz off the bench.

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Our Blues writers have their say...

Joe Thomas

My big hope is that Vitalii Mykolenko is fit to start.

I tend to think Mykolenko performs best when his sole job is to defend and he often fares well against the two most potent right wingers in the Premier League - Mohamed Salah and Bukayo Saka.

There is a spark there and if the game is tight he could be a catalyst for a big moment late in this game.

My team (4-5-1): Pickford, O'Brien, Tarkowski, Branthwaite, Mykolenko; Lindstrom, Garner, Doucoure, Gueye, Ndiaye; Beto.

Chris Beesley

Who would have thought it but as we prepare for a pivotal moment in Everton history as over 130 years of Merseyside Derby combat comes down to one final game at Goodison Park, with the number of victories for the Blues and Reds at the ground all-square, the key man for this 'winner takes all/next goal wins' one-off decider could be Vitalii Mykolenko.

The Ukraine international has endured his fair share of ups and downs since he came to the Premier League and after struggling under Frank Lampard, he was arguably the most-improved player last season under Sean Dyche, only for this term to be another rollercoaster ride in terms of his form.

After he missed Saturday's FA Cup defeat to Bournemouth though with a calf injury, Everton are now sweating on Mykolenko for Liverpool's last-ever trip across Stanley Park.

Everton's oldest ever outfield player will need plenty of support from his team-mates if that's the case and he'll have to keep his head but the wily campaigner does know every trick in the book and he might need to use them all here.

My team (4-2-3-1): Pickford; O'Brien, Tarkowski, Branthwaite, Mykolenko; Gueye, Garner; Lindstrom, Doucoure, Ndiaye; Beto.


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