Merseyside poised for final derby at Goodison Park

LONDON : The last-ever FA Cup tie at Goodison Park proved to be the dampest of squibs on Saturday and Everton fans will demand something of a higher order for what will be an emotional last Merseyside derby at the famous old ground on Wednesday night.

Everton stumbled to a 2-0 defeat by Bournemouth, their gloom lifted only by Liverpool's subsequent shock 1-0 loss at Plymouth Argyle, and though Everton will now focus their attention on avoiding relegation and Liverpool will seek to widen their lead at the top, Wednesday's game will exist in its own world away from the Premier League table.

The fixture was due to be played in December but postponed due to Storm Darragh and so, instead of a Saturday lunchtime kickoff, it gets the midweek evening prime-time slot such an historic match surely deserves.

This will be the 245th meeting in all competitions between the largely friendly rivals divided by less than a mile of Stanley Park, making it the most played fixture in English football.

The first was in 1894, two years after Everton left Anfield following a row over rent.

While the new club of Liverpool FC was formed at the old ground, Everton built what was then the best ground in England, and so began 131 years of fixtures there that will end when Everton move to their new home next season.

In that time at Goodison, in all competitions the teams have 41 wins each, with 37 draws, though those figures have been taking on a reddish hue in recent decades.

When Everton won 1-0 at Goodison in 1978 it ended a record seven-year, 15-game winless spell against their greatest rivals. Goalscorer Andy King was famously told to "get off the pitch" while being "gently ushered" by a policeman, interrupting his TV interview moments after fulltime