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The history of the most hotly contested derby in English football, rivalled in Britain only perhaps by the Old Firm clashes.
To the fans on either side of Stanley Park, it is the biggest game in the football calendar.
If you are an Evertonian
and have never experienced the blood and thunder of a Merseyside derby, you simply haven't lived. Though they might call it
the friendly derby because of the intermingling of the fans in the grounds, there is no room for niceties on the pitch as
local pride takes centre stage.
In recent years, Everton have enjoyed a fantastic record against their arch rivals, losing
just once in 11 meetings between the autumns of 1994 and 1999.
There have been some fantastic derby matches down
the years, not least the 4-4 draw in the FA Cup this decade and the exhilirating but heart-breaking Cup Final of 1989. Here
are some facts about Everton's League games against Liverpool since the two first met in 1894.
The longest unbeaten
run in matches home and away is 14, held by Everton.
The longest unbeaten run in home matches is held, unfortunately,
by Liverpool when Everton failed to beat them in the League for 14 games between the 1970/71 season and 1984-85.
The
longest unbeaten run away from home is held by Everton with an astonishing 15 match run at Anfield between 1899 and 1920 which
included 10 victories.
The longest unbroken winning run at home belongs to Liverpool with 5 between 1932-33 and 1936-37.
The longest unbroken winning run away from home belongs to Everton who scored 7 consecutive victories at Anfield between
1908-09 and 1914-1915.
The record victory in a league match is 6-0 recorded by Liverpool at Goodison Park in the 1935-36
season.
Everton's 2-1 away victory in the 1995-96 season was the first time they had won at Anfield for 10 years. They
won again in September 1999, recording a 1-0 victory.
Liverpool failed to beat Everton once during Joe Royle's two and
a half year reign - that's 5 matches - and had to wait another four games before finally winning 3-2 in the spring of 1999.
Very few people outside Merseyside realise that had it not been for a rift in Everton FC in 1892, Liverpool FC would never
have existed. A rent dispute at Anfield Road (yes, the very ground that Liverpool use today) caused a core of Everton players
and members to look elsewhere for a ground. They chose Goodison Park while the remaining club was forced by the League to
change their name from Everton Athletic Grounds Ltd to Liverpool because they did not want two clubs with the name Everton.
The rest is, as they say, history!
Here are some more interesting facts about the relationship between the two clubs
Liverpool still play on Everton's old ground, Anfield. Although the surrounding stands bear no relation to the Anfield
that Everton occupied, Liverpool still play on the same pitch. It is still in the same location.
Everton won their first
championship at Anfield.
Everton hosted an international between England and Ireland at Anfield, it was considered so
good at the time.
The largest audience to ever watch a Derby game at Everton was 78,299 in September 1948 which is also
Everton's biggest attendance in history.
When 96 Liverpool fans were crushed to death on the terraces of Sheffiled Wednesday's
Hillsborough stadium in April 1989, fans of both clubs rallied round in a period of unparalleled unity. A chain of blue and
red club scarves was stretched for the mile or so across Stanley Park from the gates of Anfield to Goodison Park in memory
of the deceased.
In the 4-4 draw in the FA Cup in 1991 Everton came from behind four times to force a replay which Everton
won 1-0. Kenny Dalglish resigned as The Reds' manager that week.
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