Henderson: “The Derby Is Always A Special Occasion”

Liverpool and Everton. The Friendly Derby. Those that support the Merseyside clubs look to this match every year. Sunday is no different, but there’s never been a gap this large between the two teams. Liverpool are fighting for an unprecedented quadruple and Everton are battling relegation.

Ahead of the match, as with every match at Anfield, The Reds captain Jordan Henderson penned a message to Liverpool fans in the pre-match programme.

“The derby is always a special occasion, so hopefully it will live up to the expectation once again.”

“As ever, we’re expecting an incredibly tough game against an Everton team which has its own reasons for fighting for every single point.

“I can also say without any shadow of a doubt that anyone who uses the league table as a gauge for what will happen in this game should think again.

“I might not fully believe the old cliché about the form book going out of the window, but I have played in more than enough of these matches to know that nothing is won on the basis of what’s happened previously. It is all about how you perform on the day.”

Henderson is right to point out that the gap between the two teams doesn’t matter when the whistle blows. Liverpool need to be focused against Everton.

“This will be a proper derby with everything that goes with it so we have to be prepared for that as a team because anything else won’t be good enough.

“Yes, we can go into the game with as much confidence as our recent form allows, but our desire and will to win has to be as strong as it would be if we hadn’t won a game in weeks, armed with the knowledge that we will absolutely have to earn the right to play.”

If you’d like to read the rest of the programme notes from the captain, you can do so here.