Merseyside derby: Everton favourites ahead of hosting Liverpool in Premier League

Everton and Liverpool meet at Goodison Park as part of Super Sunday for the 219th Merseyside derby.

The two clubs are famously separated by less than a mile across Stanley Park and have long been fierce rivals. This season's first meeting promises to be no different and hosts Everton are arguably enjoying the unusual experience of going into the game as favourites. David Moyes' team sit fourth in the Premier League after making an uncharacteristically good start to the campaign, taking 15 points from eight games. In contrast, Brendan Rodgers has been frustrated by the start of his Liverpool reign after collecting just nine points from eight matches to leave them in 12th position. Everton do have the local bragging rights after finishing higher than Liverpool for only the second time in the last 25 seasons but they lost all three derbies, including an FA Cup semi-final in 2011/12. Whatever happens at Goodison Park on Sunday, it seems certain to be another fiery encounter as the derby has seen more red cards - 20 - than any other fixture in Premier League history.Steven Pienaar is suspended after being sent off for two bookings in last weekend's draw at Queens Park Rangers. Marouane Fellaini missed the game at Loftus Road with the knee injury which also forced him to pull out of Belgium's squad for their recent World Cup qualifiers. Tony Hibbert has missed the last five matches with a calf injury, while Darron Gibson has been absent for the previous six games with a thigh problem, although he has returned to training.Jose Reina missed last weekend's win over Reading and Thursday's Europa League victory over Anzhi Makhachkala and it remains to be seen if the goalkeeper recovers from his hamstring injury. Fabio Borini was ruled out for three months with a broken right foot earlier in October, while Glen Johnson was substituted at half-time against Anzhi with a muscle spasm. Martin Kelly was sidelined for six months after suffering cruciate knee ligament injury in the September defeat by Manchester United and midfielder Lucas Leiva is another long-term absentee.