Everton will look to cause one of the biggest upset in years when they square off against Liverpool for their English Premier League fixture on Saturday.
The Toffees will welcome Dominic Calvert Lewin and Allan back to the squad as they head into a Merseyside derby that Carlo Ancelotti thinks his team have a good chance of winning.
With his club having not at Anfield since 1999, Ancelotti takes Everton across Stanley Park to face Liverpool for a tea-time kick off.
Centre forward Calvert-Lewin has recovered from a knock he suffered against Tottenham ten days ago while Brazilian midfielder Allan is available for the first time since suffering a hamstring injury in December.
Both are expected to go straight in to Ancelotti’s team for a game that would appear to offer opportunity as Liverpool seek to recover form at an empty Anfield.
Ancelotti said: “Every game you play against Liverpool for Everton, you want to win. But it’s been a long time.
“This could be the right time. It could be.
“It only depends on what we can do on the pitch.
“For sure, Liverpool have lost the support of their fans [in the stadium].
“The fact that supporters are not there can be an advantage for away teams. It’s the same for all the teams this particular season.
“I don’t think we feel pressure [of not winning]. I think we are better than we were in the past and so we can have more opportunity now.’
Everton have a chance to finish ahead of Liverpool in the Premier League this season and a win tomorrow would help. Ancelotti said that his team will go to Anfield to attack.
He added: ‘We have to try and find solutions up front and we have to compete with their intensity levels.
“You can’t only defend against them. We have to try and propose something and we will do that.
Ancelotti confirmed that Calvert-Lewin and Allan are fit enough to start and claimed suggestions that Colombian forward James Rodriguez is homesick are not true.
“He is ok,’ said the Italian.
“No problem. I talk to him every day.
“He is happy and confident. He had a little problem in his calf but now he is in good condition.
“He really feels good here because everybody takes care of him. There are only things about the weather and we know it’s not the best here. But there are a lot of good things about this area.
“It is important to have all the squad available. To have Allan back is really important for us. The consistency of the team will improve now that he is back.’
