'We wouldn't have this if we hadn't pushed each other on'

After their first spell apart, Everton's Holmgaard twins are back together again and relishing a Merseyside derby

- Louise Taylor

Once the Holmgaard twins step on to a football pitch it becomes relatively easy to tell them apart. While Sara is left-footed and plays in central defence, Karen favours her right foot and anchors midfield but, back in the dressing room, the pair's similarities far outweigh the differences.

Even Everton's manager, Brian Sørensen, has been known to confuse one identical twin with the other. "Being left- and right-footed is the biggest difference. I'm maybe a bit quieter but otherwise we're nearly the same," says Sara before Karen interjects. "I have a higher bun," she points out, gesturing to her hair. "But we're just enjoying being here together, it's something special."

The Holmgaards relish following the path set by their similarly identical male football counterparts, Jacob and Josh Murphy, who played together at Norwich, and Michael and Will Keane, once regular fixtures in assorted Manchester United and England youth teams. In the women's sphere, a precedent was set by the Kmita twins, Mollie and Rosie, although that pair have now swapped West Ham for sports broadcasting.

As the Holmgaards prepare for tonight's Merseyside derby against Liverpool at Goodison Park, retirement is the last thing on the 24-year-olds' minds, but they accept they are unlikely to synchronise their entire careers. Indeed they have only recently been reunited after being divided for the first time when Sara spent the first half of this season on loan at Denmark's Fortuna Hjørring.