John Heitinga welcomes competition for places at Everton ahead of facing Liverpool

John Heitinga has no problem with Everton manager David Moyes' central defensive rotation policy even if it means he could miss the Merseyside derby.

Heitinga does not want to consider high-flying Everton favourites for the derby but he is excited by the prospect of winning on Sunday and opening a nine-point gap over an inconsistent Liverpool. "I can't wait until next Sunday, because it's the biggest game of the year in my eyes," he said. "It's a home game as well and if you take a look at the table, you know, you can't talk about favourites but if we win, there's a big gap between us and Liverpool. "I'm not talking about favourites but you know this is a game that is different to a league game because it's a derby and the stadiums are not far from each other."