It will be an emotional occasion this evening when Everton play host to Liverpool at Goodison Park. With both teams exiting the FA Cup at the weekend, tonight's match will be the final time a Merseyside derby will be staged at The Grand Old Lady.

So how does Blues boss David Moyes go about ensuring it is an evening to remember? Despite their humbling at Plymouth Argyle on Sunday, the Reds will be huge favourites to extend their lead at the top of the Premier League to nine points with victory.

But while Everton's winning run came to an end at home to bogey side Bournemouth on Saturday, that streak still stands in the Premier League and there were positives from the cup defeat, namely the performances of Jack Harrison and new boy Carlos Alcaraz off the bench.

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Do both players coming into the starting line-up tonight? Our Blues writers have their say...

Joe Thomas

My big hope is that Vitalii Mykolenko is fit to start. The left-back has had an up and down season but he has looked better under David Moyes and, whoever his manager has been, he’s generally performed well against Liverpool. I tend to think Mykolenko performs best when his sole job is to defend and he often fares well against the two most potent right wingers in the Premier League - Mohamed Salah and Bukayo Saka.

The only option if Mykolenko loses his fitness battle is Ashley Young and, for all his experience, his track record isn’t the best with Everton when he’s been up against tricky wingers. The two red cards for four bookable offences against Luis Diaz at Anfield and Kaoru Mitoma this season spring to mind, albeit he was on the right on both occasions.

The prospect of Diaz coming up against Jesper Lindstrom and Jake O’Brien on the other side does worry me, but the two are growing together and deserve to keep their places, while there is room for some joy if Lindstrom and Iliman Ndiaye can attack their full-backs.

The only major debate is whether to bring in Carlos Alcaraz for Abdoulaye Doucoure. I would not. Doucoure’s energy is important and he will help to churn up the middle of the pitch. His physicality is even more important given James Garner is still only just returning from a long injury.

Alcaraz’s display from the bench against Bournemouth was promising and he looks like he possesses the attitude and attributes to be a hit here. I just fear that starting him tonight might be a little too ambitious. I also think that having someone like him to come off the bench is also useful. There is a spark there and if the game is tight he could be a catalyst for a big moment late in this game.

My team (4-5-1): Pickford, O'Brien, Tarkowski, Branthwaite, Mykolenko; Lindstrom, Garner, Doucoure, Gueye, Ndiaye; Beto.

Chris Beesley

Who would have thought it but as we prepare for a pivotal moment in Everton history as over 130 years of Merseyside Derby combat comes down to one final game at Goodison Park, with the number of victories for the Blues and Reds at the ground all-square, the key man for this 'winner takes all/next goal wins' one-off decider could be Vitalii Mykolenko.

The Ukraine international has endured his fair share of ups and downs since he came to the Premier League and after struggling under Frank Lampard, he was arguably the most-improved player last season under Sean Dyche, only for this term to be another rollercoaster ride in terms of his form.

After he missed Saturday's FA Cup defeat to Bournemouth though with a calf injury, Everton are now sweating on Mykolenko for Liverpool's last-ever trip across Stanley Park. This is because, for all his fluctuations in fortunes, the former Dynamo Kyiv man has produced some of his best performances in a royal blue jersey when going head-to-head against some of the Premier League's best right-wingers.

Mykolenko kept Bukayo Saka quiet in Everton's battling goalless draw with Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium in December and he also did a job on Liverpool's main dangerman Mohamed Salah in both the Anfield and Goodison derbies last season before going off. It was telling that the Egyptian only broke free after the left-back had left the action in the away game while he was snuffed out in the first half of Everton's 2-0 win before injury struck his marker.

That's the dilemma again with Mykolenko. After being forced out at the interval the last time these two sides played, he didn't kick a ball again for the Blues in 2023/24 but was then rushed back to play for Ukraine at the European Championships.

If he doesn't pass a late fitnes test then responsibilties fall upon the experience shoulders of Ashley 'Forever' Young, just five months shy of his 40th birthday, to try and keep Salah quiet. Everton's oldest ever outfield player will need plenty of support from his team-mates if that's the case and he'll have to keep his head but the wily campaigner does know every trick in the book and he might need to use them all here.

My team (4-2-3-1): Pickford; O'Brien, Tarkowski, Branthwaite, Mykolenko; Gueye, Garner; Lindstrom, Doucoure, Ndiaye; Beto.