While one side of North London will probably have sewn up bragging rights for the season in Saturday’s early kick-off, there can be no denying that Everton and Liverpool fans will face a nervy 90 minutes as the second act of double derby day begins under the floodlights at Goodison Park.

Unlike Tottenham and Arsenal, the two teams involved in this one could not go into the game in more contrasting form given that Liverpool have taken 16 points from their last 18 while Everton had not won a Premier League game since November 27 prior to their 1-0 victory away to Crystal Palace.

The significance of that win for Roberto Martinez and his team cannot be overstated given the wretched run the Toffees have been on, and a welcome three points plus a fifth clean sheet of the season should provide just the fillip they need ahead of a meeting with their Merseyside rivals.

Nevertheless, it is Brendan Rodgers’ men who have been priced as the favourites for this one at 11/8, with the home team seen as 9/4 outsiders and the draw available at 5/2. While this in itself is not wholly surprising given Everton are winless against their neighbours since 2010, the fact that the two sides have drawn four of their last five meetings certainly make such odds a stand-out option.

The worry for Everton is that by-and-large they have been a shambles defensively this season, conceding one more goal than 18th placed side, Hull City. As such, the likes of Raheem Sterling and Philippe Coutinho will be licking their lips in anticipation of the space they’ll be afforded on Saturday evening, but given it took Reds striker, Daniel Sturridge, just 12 minutes to score on his return to competitive action last week, he looks the man to back to open the scoring at 5/1 or find the net anytime at 17/10.

Beyond that market, Liverpool have kept clean sheets in their last three Premier League games and have not let in an away goal since the 3-0 defeat to Manchester United in December, making odds of 12/5 on another away shut-out initially look tempting. This must, however, be tempered by the fact that the two sides have shared 12 strikes between them in their last three meetings, making the 23/10 on there being over 3.5 goals in the game slightly better value than it might first appear.

While it’s true that the visitors are not the free-scoring unit they were last season and may struggle to reach such a tally, there is certainly still some value to be had in backing an away win and over 2.5 goals at 13/5, especially given the porous nature of Everton’s defence and the fact that Liverpool are returning to their full quota of attacking options at a crucial period in the season.