Moyes's final shot at Liverpool?

Massive contest ... there's few bigger rivalries than Everton against Liverpool. Source: Jon Super / AP

It's the one stat that will irk David Moyes at Everton.

Sixty three league points have been on offer in Merseyside derbies and his side has only secured 15. 

For all the accolades and the consistent overachievement that Moyes has maintained throughout his 11 seasons at Everton, it has become his most difficult fixture. 

He is well versed in the importance of it; the days of when it was known as the ‘friendly derby’ now well and truly in the past. He played up to the rivalry between the two clubs as soon as he arrived in 2002. "I am joining the people's football club. The majority of people you meet on the street are Everton fans," Moyes said at his first press conference.

His players are also under no illusion of how important the match is. "My wife knows that every time she arranges a Saturday night out it’s based on what the result of that day’s game is. If we lose, we don’t go out. Simple as that; I’m no good to anyone. And if we lose to Liverpool, she might as well cancel the rest of the month," Everton captain Phil Neville said in the build-up to their meeting earlier in the season. 

It finished 2-2 in October at Goodison Park and Neville’s wife did not have to cancel the next month’s worth of Saturday nights out, but a party atmosphere after playing Liverpool while Moyes has been at the helm has been rare. Whether it has been Gerard Houllier, Rafa Bentiez or Kenny Dalglish, Moyes has rarely come out on top.

Form has seemingly counted for little. Often Everton have come into the match in better form and with less off-field distractions but the results have lived up to the cliché that form goes out the window when it comes to derbies. 

The earlier meeting between the two sides this season looked almost certain to provide him with three points. Having had their best start to a season since they qualified for the UEFA Champions League in 2004-2005, Moyes’ men sat in fifth place while Liverpool - under new boss Brendan Rodgers - were struggling in 12th place. However, they were caught cold by the Reds who took a 2-0 lead before Everton stormed back to draw 2-2. 

In a pulsating 90 minutes it looked like Everton would take all three points after they equalised 15 minutes before half-time and continued to lay siege to the Liverpool goal. But the Toffees were thwarted by Rodgers’s shift to a back-three, which gave the Reds much more control and Everton were perhaps lucky not to lose after Luis Suarez scored late-on only for it to be wrongly ruled out for offside. 

Sunday’s 220th league meeting between the two will take on extra significance for Moyes as it may be his last. With his contract set to expire at the end of the season there has been no decision made by the former Preston North End boss on whether he will stay at the club. 

After 11 successful seasons at the club there is little doubt that Everton are desperate for him to remain but there is a growing belief that he will depart in search of a new challenge. Rumours of a switch to Germany or Spain have long been circulating with Malaga being the latest club to be linked with the Scot. 

		P	W	D	L	GD	Pts
1	Man United	35	27	4	4	43	85
2	Man City	34	21	8	5	30	71
3	Chelsea	34	19	8	7	33	65
4	Arsenal	35	18	10	7	30	64
5	Tottenham	34	18	8	8	17	62
6	Everton	35	15	14	6	14	59
7	Liverpool	35	14	12	9	25	54
8	West Brom	34	14	6	14	2	48
9	Swansea	34	10	12	12	-1	42
10	West Ham	35	11	9	15	-8	42
11	Fulham	35	10	10	15	-9	40
12	Stoke	35	9	13	13	-10	40
13	Southampton	35	9	12	14	-10	39
14	Norwich	35	8	14	13	-21	38
15	Sunderland	35	9	10	16	-12	37
16	Aston Villa	35	9	10	16	-22	37
17	Newcastle	35	10	7	18	-23	37
18	Wigan	34	8	8	18	-23	32
19	QPR	35	4	13	18	-27	25
20	Reading	35	5	10	20	-28	25

Everton’s players will be well aware of the importance three points against their bitter rivals could play in his decision to stay or go. With three games to play Everton are five points off a Champions League place and only three points off a Europa League spot. For the fiercely ambitious Moyes, leading Everton into Europe may be enough to convince him to remain at the club. 

On Sunday there is also the chance of extinguishing Liverpool’s hopes of qualifying for Europe. The Reds are seventh, five points behind Everton and a loss would spell the end of their already slim hopes of a Europa League place. 

Rodgers may have said missing out on the competition might be a blessing in disguise as it would allow them to concentrate on the Premier League but the absence of European football is unlikely to be welcomed by many at Anfield. As their former manager Roy Evan once said: "Liverpool without European football is like a banquet without wine".  

The key to Moyes enjoying his trip to Anfield will be subduing Liverpool’s attack. Only the champions Manchester United have scored more goals this season and even with Suarez suspended they managed to put six past Newcastle in their last outing. 

His own attack will also be a concern with Swansea and West Ham the only other teams in the top ten who have scored less goals away from home. The chief reason for this has been the form of striker Nikica Jelavic who has scored just once in the league this season. The lack of firepower has left Moyes to lament what a 20-goal a season striker could have done for his side, who have drawn 14 times this campaign. 

If Sunday proves to be Moyes’s last Merseyside derby he will be aware of the impact it will have on the way he is remembered by the Everton faithful. His outstanding body of work will always be recognised but the importance of the derby to the football mad city of Liverpool cannot be understated. This is far from the ‘friendly derby’ it once was; come Sunday football will very much feel like a matter of life of death on Merseyside. 

Follow me on Twitter @beaubusch 

Catch all the action on Fox Sports 1 HD from 10pm (EST) on Sunday!

View the original article here