Everton boss Brian Sorensen is hopeful his side can replicate the win over Liverpool at Anfield when they take on their Merseyside rivals at Goodison Park on Friday evening.
The Blues claimed all the bragging rights back in September when they beat freshly-promoted Liverpool 3-0 on the other side of Stanley Park. First half goals from Megan Finnigan and Jess Park, as well as a late strike from Hanna Bennison got Everton's campaign up and running after their opening day defeat to West Ham.
Sorensen has warned they must be cautious of Liverpool's desire to inflict revenge, but is hopeful his team can achieve a similar outcome this time around on home turf. “That was a special night,” he said to the media on Thursday, when asked about the Anfield clash.
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“Going there, and winning, and also winning in the way we did, of course. I’m not saying it was easy, but it was probably a bit easier than we expected, but I think tomorrow, they’ll really be up for it.
“I think the recruitment they did in the January transfer window has strengthened them, and they’re getting players back from injury now, so I think we’ll see a different Liverpool team. They’ll be more aggressive against us than they were at Anfield, so we’ve prepared for that. Can we win in the same style and have everything we did that night? Hopefully the fans’ smiles are as big again.”
Everton's form in recent weeks has taken a dip, having failed to secure a win in their last four games in all competitions. Their last victory was in January, a 3-0 triumph at home to West Ham in the league.
Since then, they were beaten by Championship opposition Birmingham City in the FA Cup and Aston Villa recorded a 2-0 win against them at the start of this month. They did manage a 0-0 draw against title contenders Manchester United, but were held to a stalemate against bottom-of-the-table Leicester City in their last WSL outing almost two weeks ago.
“I think with the style of play that we have, we really try to control games, and to dominate," the Everton boss continued. "We don’t want a really open, transitional game. We want to be in control, and that’s probably the hardest thing to do in football.
“We have a young team, but I believe we’re on the right path to building something consistent. The whole time, we’ve been looking at our performances, and we’ve been happy with them. There was the West Ham and Reading games where we were winning, but we were not so happy with our performances. We liked the results, of course, and everybody wants that.
“At the end of the day, it’s how you play and we’re starting to get back on the right track. We need to now start winning, and taking the three points when we dominate so much. Hopefully we will see that on Friday night against a good Liverpool team.”
Sorensen confirmed goalkeeper Emily Ramsey will miss Friday's 7:30pm kick-off at Goodison Park due to the ankle injury she sustained while on international duty last month. Karen Holmgaard will be monitored after suffering concussion, but twin sister Sara Holmgaard is fit and available.
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