[lfc-news] Hansen on Mersey derby - BBC

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BBC Sport, 17 Mar 2005
Mersey duo are £20m bounty hunters
By Alan Hansen

Liverpool meet Everton at Anfield on Sunday in a Merseyside derby where
the stakes are even higher than normal - perhaps as high as £20m for the
winner.

That is the prize at stake as Merseyside's big two chase fourth place in
the Premiership, and the massive financial bounty on offer for Champions
League qualification.

Liverpool are currently doing the chasing, and I think if Everton win
they will end up getting fourth place.

If Rafael Benitez's side win it may just be enough to give them the
impetus heading into the final weeks of the season.

When predicting the outcome of games like these, there are so many
imponderables to take into account that it is almost impossible.

If you put a gun to my head I would say Liverpool to win, but I wouldn't
necessarily do it with huge confidence.

The three points will count more than the cash on offer to the
supporters, but the prize money you get for qualifying for the Champions
League will be like gold dust to the two clubs in their current
financial positions.

Everton are still waiting on confirmation of investment from the
Fortress Sport Fund, while Liverpool are actively looking for a major
investor to enable them to challenge at the top of the Premiership once
more.

I say Liverpool would be favourites on their own ground, but anyone
under-estimating Everton does so at their peril because they have been
magnificent this season.

You can rest assured Everton will be meticulously prepared by David
Moyes, who has done a wonderful job this season.

And they have this priceless ability to bounce back just when you think
they may be going off the boil.

They got thoroughly pummelled by Manchester United in the FA Cup, and
just as the doubts started to kick in, they responded with a superb
performance at Aston Villa when they played the home side off the park.

Everton then followed that up with a bitterly disappointing home defeat
against Blackburn - but history tells us that may galvanise them to go
again at Liverpool.

One thing we do know is that it will be fast, furious, the tackles will
fly in and there is no room for the faint-hearted - a far cry from
Liverpool's goalless draw against Blackburn.

Every player will be fired up, and if they are not they shouldn't be
playing professional football.

And if you look for form pointers don't bother - it doesn't count for
anything.

Flowing football will be in short supply. Time and space will be at a
premium and it could all come down to a single error.

For Liverpool, one thing has remained consistent in a season blighted by
inconsistency, and that is their form at Anfield.

They have been excellent at home, turning out consistent victories and
pleasing the Anfield punters with their style into the bargain - the
Blackburn match apart.

Steven Gerrard is of course a key man, and as they showed against Bayer
Leverkusen, when they get it right they can be quite a force.

Too often, however, they have followed up good performances with bad.
They can go from great highs to massive lows, and Benitez will not want
that to happen on Sunday.

Everton will make it tough for them, because they are strong
defensively, indeed it is probably fair to say that the way they are set
up makes them more formidable away from home than at Goodison Park.

But Liverpool have been scoring goals at home, and sometimes it is not a
matter of your formation in derby games, it is the small details or
small pieces of luck that make the difference.

The key area, for me, will be in defence.

One mistake could decide it, but there are some experienced customers
about on both sides, such as Alan Stubbs and David Weir for Everton and
Sami Hyypia and Jamie Carragher for Liverpool.

It may even come down to the two goalkeepers, Nigel Martyn and Jerzy Dudek.

Martyn has had a fine season with Everton, whereas Dudek has made
mistakes for Liverpool, but that doesn't mean that is what is going to
happen on Sunday.

The line is that fine - but the financial prize could be massive for the
winners.

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