Moyes: Take it as Red

28 March 2012 06:47

Everton boss David Moyes insisted Liverpool will go into next month's FA Cup semi-final showdown between the derby rivals as favourites.

The Toffees booked a dream trip to Wembley to face their city rivals with a superb 2-0 quarter-final replay victory at Sunderland despite arriving at the Stadium of Light less than an hour before kick-off because of traffic congestion.

However, Moyes was adamant the men from Anfield would be expected to emerge triumphant on April 14 after winning both Barclays Premier League clashes earlier this season. He said: "Liverpool will be favourites. They have beaten us twice this year, haven't they?"

He added: "They have to go into the game as favourites, and we will go there and play."

Moyes was thrilled to have secured a trip to Wembley weeks after celebrating 10 years at Goodison Park to rekindle memories of their most recent successes.

He said: "I think anybody would think going to a semi-final would be an achievement, whether you have been there one year or 10 years.

"But the thing about Everton is they have got a history of being in finals, semi-finals, winning things. I have not been in as many as I would like to be, but I actually think there are mitigating circumstances for that in a way. But Everton as a football club are used to it, it's been there many times before and this isn't a strange place for them."

His opposite number Martin O'Neill admitted his side were simply not at the races as their hopes of making home advantage count proved forlorn.

He said: "Everton were better than us. They deserved to win the game. We didn't perform well enough - we didn't perform at all, and that's really disappointing.

"We were ready for the night and to see the sort of atmosphere just before kick-off, the noise level, was something we should experience more often here at the Stadium of Light. It was a great evening, a great night for football and we disappointed."

Source: PA