David Moyes makes major blunder as Everton starting XI vs Liverpool revealed
Everton manager David Moyes is looking for the first Anfield win of his career on Saturday.
Everton travel the short distance to Liverpool's stadium, looking to continue a positive run that has seen them go unbeaten in their last three Premier League matches.
Moyes has a dismal record against Liverpool when his side is on the road, failing to win in 22 attempts with the Blues, West Ham, Sunderland and Manchester United.
Everton have not had many memorable moments at Anfield, but Moyes will hope to cause an upset on 20 September.
Merlin Rohl nowhere to be seen for Everton against Liverpool
Jarrad Branthwaite's fitness was the major talking point for Everton ahead of the clash.
The England star is not even in the squad for the contest, nor was new signing Merlin Rohl, who impressed in Everton's draw with Aston Villa and could have been handed a starting berth.
Vitalii Mykolenko returns to action, with the likes of Jack Grealish, Iliman Ndiaye and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall all included in the team.
David Moyes has made a mistake leaving Merlin Rohl out
Rohl was signed on deadline day on loan, with a £17.3m obligation to buy, but he has not been selected in the squad in a baffling move.
Idrissa Gueye and James Garner are a solid pairing at the base of midfield, but Rohl should have been on the bench at the very least.
- Moyes has managed at Anfield 22 times
- He has failed to win on all occasions, with seven draws and 15 losses
- Everton's last win at Anfield came in 2021 under Carlo Ancelotti
Obviously, Moyes trusts the duo that he has selected, but the German may have been a more dynamic option over Gueye, and the fact that he is not even on the bench is a shock.
He surely offers more than Tim Ireogbunam, who has made the list of potential replacements for the clash.
He completed both of his two tackles that he attempted, for a 100 per cent completion rate and won three of the six ground duels that he competed for, and both aerial duels, which gave him 50 per cent and 100 per cent success rates, as per Sofascore.
The decision to not even have him on the bench seems like an extremely harsh one and could come back to haunt Moyes.
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