Source: Telegraph
Everton v Liverpool: David Moyes expects 'feisty' contest at Goodison
The stakes are high heading into the 214th clash between Everton and Liverpool on Sunday, with both teams struggling at the lower end of the Barclays Premier League.[LNB]Everton needed seven games to register their first win, while Liverpool's below-par performances have left them in the bottom three at a time when their off-field problems have dominated headlines.[LNB]The last clash between the clubs in February was an ill-tempered affair with Steven Pienaar and Sotirios Krygiakos sent off and Marouane Fellaini suffering a serious injury.[LNB]With more fireworks anticipated at Goodison Park this weekend - and at a time when bad tackles have also been in the news - World Cup final referee Howard Webb has been put in charge.[LNB]But Moyes does not feel the challenges will be any fiercer, or worse, than those he has been used to over his eight years in charge.[LNB]The Scot said: ''I don't see why this one would be more than any other game. Maybe it is because tackling has been debated a bit at the moment.[LNB]''It shouldn't put any more focus on the game because if it does it would probably ruin the spectacle.[LNB]''Parts of derbies are the challenges, sometimes not so good challenges. That is the way it always has been. It is always a feisty occasion.[LNB]''We don't want the bad tackles but this is why people talk about the derby and are excited about it. What they expect from managers and players is a bit of commitment.[LNB]''We don't want to see bad injuries but we don't want to stop tackling. I wouldn't want to manage teams that couldn't tackle.[LNB]''I think the games are feisty but I would quite enjoy that.''[LNB]Everton's preparations have been badly hit by injuries with Fellaini and Phil Jagielka returning from international duty with hamstring problems.[LNB]Key midfielder Fellaini faces up to six weeks out after suffering his injury in Belgium's Euro 2012 qualifier with Austria.[LNB]Defender Jagielka's injury is not as bad as feared after pulling up in an England training session, but he is still unlikely to feature on Sunday.[LNB]Pienaar and Louis Saha are not yet fit to return while promising youngster Ross Barkley, on the bench for the last four games, also broke a leg this week.[LNB]However, Moyes believes his side can build on their win over Birmingham last time out.[LNB]He said: ''We are all disappointed we have not got the results we thought we would have, but they have played with confidence throughout and never lost the belief.[LNB]''I think we have got a lot of belief it will all come good before the end of the season.''[LNB]
