Liverpool better prepared for Anfield return says Beard | OneFootball

Liverpool manager Matt Beard says that his side are better prepared for an Anfield Merseyside derby than they were last season.

The Reds will take on neighbours Everton in the first Merseyside derby of the season at Anfield tomorrow afternoon.

The fixture took place at the same venue and at a similar point last season. On that occasion, Everton ran out emphatic 3-0 winners as the home side were left completely deflated.

When speaking to the media ahead of this weekend’s Merseyside derby, Liverpool boss Beard said that his side are better prepared for the big occasion at Anfield.

“We froze in the first half and second half, we were a lot better but we were chasing the game at that point,” Beard said when discussing last season’s derby.

“We are a lot more experienced as a team than what we were this time last year. We’ve played in numerous main stadiums; we played at the Emirates on the first day of the season in front of 55,000, so we’ve got that experience under our belt now.

“The toughest thing last year was that we had been in the Championship for two seasons and hadn’t played in front of a crowd like that since the previous fixture against Everton. It is completely different now.”

Everton took four points from last season’s derbies. While Beard feels that Liverpool are more prepared for the surroundings, he also knows that his side are in a much better place on the pitch.

He said “They do (have a good record) but we are in a different place to where we were this time last year.

“With these games, the form goes out of the window. We’ve had a good start and they haven’t, so from our end, we know it’s going to be a tough game but we are looking forward to it.

“We are in a good place at the moment and we just have to make sure that we have that focus on Sunday.”

Liverpool’s Merseyside derby fixture against Everton kicks-off at 4.30pm on Sunday afternoon.