'The gulf has never been bigger' - can Moyes end his Anfield misery?

Rafael Benitez and David Moyes
David Moyes took charge of 12 games at Anfield in his first spell as Everton boss, winning none, drawing seven and losing five [Getty Images]

For David Moyes, Anfield has become the stuff of nightmares.

Twenty one matches managed there, no wins, 14 defeats and 36 goals conceded - and the Everton boss isn't expecting life to get any easier when the Toffees visit runaway league leaders Liverpool in the Premier League on Wednesday.

Moyes, 61, whose Everton side are 36 points behind Liverpool, said: "We might be further away from Liverpool than we have ever been at the moment.

"When we left here, we were much closer to Liverpool, we were competitive, competing around the same areas in the league. At the moment it is probably the biggest gulf between the two clubs."

A look at the history books shows Moyes is right. This is the biggest points gap there has ever been before a Merseyside derby that Moyes has been in charge of Everton in.

Before this season, the biggest points gap before a Merseyside derby that Moyes was involved in was the 18 points Everton trailed the Reds by back in March 2006, and this will only be the sixth time the difference has been in double figures.

Moyes' Everton have actually been ahead of Liverpool before eight of those 19 derbies, with them level going into both derbies in 2010/11.

There has only been a bigger points difference than this before any Merseyside derby twice in Premier League history, with Liverpool leading Everton by 47 points in April 2022 and by 45 in June 2020.

Everton also trailed Liverpool by the same 36-point margin in April last season.

In terms of finances, the gulf is also pretty big, with Everton's squad costing in the region of £200m to assemble - compared to Liverpool's circa £550m.

Moyes' 19 Premier League games without a win at Anfield is also the longest any manager has gone in the competition without victory at the ground.

A dozen of those matches came during his first spell in charge of Everton, with his side gaining seven draws and seven defeats. He also lost in his only match at Anfield when Manchester United boss and again when in charge of Sunderland.

While West Ham manager, he was in charge of seven games at Liverpool, losing them all, with his most recent visit there seeing the Reds secure a 5-1 thrashing in the quarter-finals of the Carabao Cup in December 2023.

He said: "Yeh. I don't want it [the record]. I want to win. I want to make sure I get rid of it.

"Everytime we go there, it presents another chance to do so.

"I would be lying if I said I look forward to going there all the time because it is such a hard place to get results. It is nothing to do with the surroundings or the pitch, they have always produced good teams."

Revitalised Everton in good form since Moyes' return

Moyes began his second spell in charge of Everton in January, replacing the sacked Sean Dyche with the Toffees 16th in the Premier League - one point clear of the relegation zone - with only three wins from 19 games.

They lost 1-0 at home in Moyes' first league game since his return, but his side have been unbeaten since then, apart from a 2-0 home loss to Bournemouth in the fourth round of the FA Cup.

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