On derby day, the quality of Mersey is forever strained

Liverpool have had their composure tested against Everton in recent years, writes Richard Jolly, and a plethora of new cast members on both sides is unlikely to change the script

- Richard Jolly

Some people will not forget their first Merseyside derby. The chances are that, for very different reasons, Virgil van Dijk and Arne Slot are among them. Van Dijk's injury-time winner against Atletico Madrid this week offered a reminder of his debut and another headed decider, against Everton seven years ago. He was an immediate hit.

For Slot, Diego Simeone’s late dismissal at Anfield on Wednesday may have sparked memories of the only time he lost his head: at Goodison Park in February, after James Tarkowski’s 98th-minute equaliser, when Abdoulaye Doucoure, Curtis Jones, Slot and his assistant Sipke Hulshoff all saw red.

And so to a fixture that can provide a crash course to newcomers. Liverpool’s spending spree and Everton’s vast rebuilding job mean there will be plenty at Anfield this afternoon.

For Alexander Isak, Hugo Ekitike, Florian Wirtz, Milos Kerkez and Jeremie Frimpong, there could be derby debuts. Van Dijk and Slot will help them prepare.

Ekitike has already opened his Liverpool account; for Isak and Wirtz, two men who cost nine-figure sums, there could be the chance to get a first goal for their new club in one of the fixtures that matter most. Three of their new teammates did: first Van Dijk, then Jones and, most recently, Cody Gakpo.