As the Reds arrive on Goodison Park this Saturday, they will be wary of in-form striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin, who has notched six goals to become the league's joint top scorer. Photo: Jan Kruger/Reuters
LONDON - Everton and Liverpool will restart the Premier League after the international break in a top of the table derby clash that sees the Premier League champions take on the current league leaders in the Merseyside derby.
Carlo Ancelotti's Blues are the only side unbeaten in four games with 12 points after Liverpool suffered a heavy 7-2 defeat at Aston Villa, but Juergen Klopp's men are still remain in pursuit of the top spot on nine points.
As the Reds arrive on Goodison Park this Saturday, they will be wary of in-form striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin, who has notched six goals to become the league's joint top scorer with Tottenham Hotspurs' Son Heung Min.
Calvert-Lewin says this newfound belief in his goal scoring ability has been down to pressure from his manager Ancelotti and the support of his South American team mates James Rodriguez of Colombia and playmaker Richarlison of Brazil.
"He is on at me every day to be in the right areas, to stay aware, to be on my toes in the box," Calvert-Lewin commented on Ancelotti's influence.
"I had to be on the move and sniff where the ball was going to go."
"You have to be excited and learn every day playing with Richarlison and James," he added.
"I am just grateful the quality behind me is producing the opportunities for me to score the goals. The expectation I set for myself going into every game is to score."
Liverpool will be without Brazilian goalkeeper Alisson, who has a shoulder injury. But they should have captain Jordan Henderson available after he did not play in England's 1-0 loss to Denmark Wednesday.
Arsenal travel to Manchester City also in another big game on Saturday and Mikel Arteta's new signing Thomas Partey is eager to prove his worth in the Premier League.
The Ghanaian midfielder joined Arsenal from Atletico Madrid in a deal worth 45.3 million pounds (58.8 million dollars) on the October 5 transfer deadline day.
Partey told a news conference on Monday that he will be ready if he is called upon to play against Pep Guardiola's City.
" I like to play in the big matches, but it all depends on the coach and whether he wants me to play on Saturday or not," Partey said.
"I have make sure I do everything on the training ground and make sure Mikel sees that I am ready to play for him."
City will only have Ferran Torres as their available striker with Gabriel Jesus and Sergio Aguero still long-term absentees.
Kevin de Bruyne withdrew from the Belgium squad with an unspecified injury but Raheem Sterling could feature following a "minor hamstring issue."
Manchester United will also have two key players missing when they travel to Newcastle Saturday.
French forward Anthony Martial is serving the first of a three-game ban after his red card in the 6-1 defeat to Tottenham.
New deadline day signing Edinson Cavani is unavailable because of Covid-19 quarantine rules after arriving in England from Paris.
Chelsea play Southampton to complete Saturday's fixtures while on Sunday Ruben Loftus-Cheek will hope to give Fulham a scoring boost after he arrived on loan from Stamford Bridge.
Fulham are bottom of the table after losing all four of their games and conceding 11 goals.
Scott Parker's side have scored only three goals ahead of their trip to Sheffield United and Loftus-Cheek hopes to end their drought.
"I think with the manager, I can get back to playing my best football, to find my form again and help this team win games," Loftus-Cheek said.
Crystal Palace host Brighton & Hove Albion, West Ham visit Spurs and Leicester play Aston Villa in Sunday's other games.
On Monday, West Bromwich Albion welcome Burnley and Leeds United take on Wolverhampton Wanderers.
dpa