Merseyside derby will be biggest test yet of Silva’s Everton attacking overhaul

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Sam Allardyce’s hugely negative approach to last season’s Merseyside derby at Anfield was arguably the nadir of his dismal Everton reign that rightly incensed the club’s fans.

The Toffees may have escaped Anfield with a 1-1 draw on that occasion but his approach exposed a chasm between the two sides that Marco Silva has been tasked with closing this season.

He has done an impressive job on that score so far, transforming Everton’s attacking approach and playing staff but now faces the sternest test his managerial philosophy has faced during his Goodison Park reign.

Everton are looking good and are up to sixth, but the trip to Anfield represents a unique psychological challenge; the Toffees frequently went into their shell against Liverpool on David Moyes’ watch.

It is one thing for Silva to get Everton playing the attacking football which eluded them under Allardyce but it is another to execute it in the pressure cooker of Anfield in a match that means so much to their fans.

They now have the tools to hurt their bitter rivals, but it is a case of keeping the faith in their attacking principles and having the bottle to put them on show when it really matters.