Bad blood adds spice as Sam Allardyce and Jürgen Klopp prepare to meet again

To put it into context, the last time Everton won at Anfield, We’re Going to Ibiza! by Vengaboys had spent a little over two weeks in the singles chart and Tony Blair a little over two years in Downing Street. In other words, it was a long time ago. Monday 27 September 1999 to be precise – a fiery encounter in which Kevin Campbell scored the only goal of the game and three players received a red card, one of whom was a 19-year-old midfielder called Steven Gerrard.

Since then Everton have made 18 visits to the home of their derby rivals and either drawn or, more commonly in recent times, lost. The away derby has become a curse for the blue half of Merseyside, a weight that hangs heavy, the monkey they cannot shrug off, and for some Everton supporters it has become less a fixture to relish and more one to get out of the way.

That should be the case now more than ever but going into Sunday afternoon’s encounter there could well be a spring in the step of those who journey across Stanley Park and into enemy territory. Most Evertonians may not have wanted Sam Allardyce to become their manager but, equally, they will sense that he has a plan to not only frustrate Liverpool but topple them. All-out dread has transformed into a flickering of hope and for Big Sam it would be the best way possible to mark his return to the big time.

The 63-year-old only has to look back to his most recent visit to Anfield for evidence he can triumph there. It was with Crystal Palace in April, at a time when his team were in the midst of a relegation scrap. Few gave Palace any hope of overcoming Liverpool but they did, and in textbook Allardyce fashion: 28% possession, just three shots on target and a winning goal, scored by Christian Benteke, that came from a set piece.

“We exposed their weaknesses,” said Allardyce after the 2-1 victory, satisfaction radiating from every pore, fuelled, no doubt, by what had happened on the previous occasion he took on Jürgen Klopp, in December 2015. Then he was on the losing side as Liverpool beat Sunderland 1-0 at the Stadium of Light – via a Benteke goal, ironically – and he became caught up in a heated exchange with his counterpart following Jeremain Lens’s late tackle on Mamadou Sakho.

“He’s a soft German if he thinks that’s a red card,” Allardyce said of Klopp’s reaction to the incident. Given that this is a man who is not shy about pointing out the supposed unfair advantage foreign managers have over British ones in regards to getting jobs in this country, it is fair to assume the use of “soft” and “German” was no slip of the tongue.

“With Sam, I have a kind of history,” said Klopp as he prepared to reacquaint himself with Allardyce. The German, more than anyone, will recognise that Liverpool’s hopes of securing a fourth successive victory over Everton have been cut by the change in their dugout. With all due respect to David Unsworth, had he remained in charge the 229th Merseyside derby could well have turned into a Red rout.

Having skipped Everton’s Europa League trip to Cyprus in midweek in order to fully prepare for Sunday’s game, Allardyce will be relishing the chance to make a significant impact so soon into his Goodison Park tenure, after getting under way with last Saturday’s 2-0 home victory over Huddersfield. As was the case then, Everton are sure to be organised, tenacious and efficient in possession, with the motivation that victory would not only end 18 years of hurt but also further ease their relegation fears.

Essentially, however, this is a free hit for Allardyce. Certainly there is more pressure on Klopp to mastermind a win given Liverpool’s home advantage and overall superiority. He too will have a plan but should the worst happen for the hosts, scrutiny will no doubt come the way of the man in charge.

In that regard, this has been a curious season for Klopp. Those who deal regularly with the 50-year-old say they have noticed an increased level of irritation and agitation on his part, particularly with the media. Questions have been posed about exactly how much Liverpool have progressed under the German, and he has replied sharply and defiantly.

“The day somebody thinks [in my team], with not being a proper sportsman, then I stop,” said Klopp after Liverpool’s 1-1 draw with Chelsea, and when it was put to him that his players lacked savvy, having for the second time in four days blown a lead late on, after the 3-3 draw with Sevilla. It was an answer that raised eyebrows.

There is a sense, among supporters as well as outside observers, that Liverpool remain too flawed to claim major honours (or any honours, at all) under Klopp. They already appear to be out of the Premier League title race and, despite progressing to the knockout stages of the Champions League following Wednesday’s emphatic 7-0 victory over Spartak Moscow, it feels unlikely they will go deep in the competition.

But take a breath, step back and view the bigger picture, and things are actually rather rosy at Liverpool. Since losing 4-1 to Tottenham in October, Klopp’s team have won seven out of nine games, drawn the other two, scored 32 goals and conceded just six. They have notched 62 goals in 24 games, which the club have previously managed only once, during the 1895-96 season.

Overall, Liverpool have lost just three times in 24 matches in all competitions. As for their title credentials, it is fair to say Manchester City’s rampant start has skewered the race for all involved. Liverpool’s total of 29 points from their opening 15 games is just five and one fewer than they had at the same stage of the 2008-09 and 2013-14 seasons respectively, the two occasions the Merseysiders have come closest to being crowned champions for the first time since 1990.

Put simply, Liverpool are a really good team, but not as good as some others they are competing against. It is Klopp’s job, of course, to make Liverpool better and that is what he is, on the whole, doing, through transfer dealings (see Mohamed Salah), a focus on developing the players he inherited (see Roberto Firmino) and making the team more tactically flexible (see the 3-5-2 formation deployed in the 5-1 victory over Brighton). And, as the midweek victory over Spartak showed, when Philippe Coutinho, Salah, Firmino and Sadio Mané are on the pitch together there is arguably no team in the country, City included, who are as thrilling and devastating in attack.

Liverpool are not perfect but they are moving forward. Everton’s task is to stop them in their tracks and, in the process, end an agonising run. In Allardyce they may just have the man who can make the Blues party like it’s 1999.