One of the delightful prospects for football fans, when the Premier League returns after an international break, is a Merseyside derby between Everton and Liverpool.

Goodison Park will be the scene of a lunchtime start on Sunday in what promises to be an explosive match between two sides looking to prove themselves, after an indifferent start to their Premiership campaigns.

Coincidentally, both teams, which are languishing near the bottom of the table, have six points each after seven games. With new ownership looming for the Reds, Roy Hodgson will be eager to underline his management skills with a win. Especially after the fans screamed at his removal in the Reds’ 2-1 home loss to Blackpool.

In some bad news for Liverpool (apart from the off-field disputes at Anfield), Dirk Kuyt is sidelined ahead of Sunday’s game, due to an injury sustained by the striker in the Netherlands’ Euro qualifier with Sweden on Tuesday, a match that the Dutch won. convincingly. It could be a month before Kuyt returns to action.

But Hodgson will be buoyed by Torres’ return to the team after the Spanish striker showed signs of recovery from a groin strain.

Steven Gerrard, as always, will be the key man, and Hodgson will be looking for an inspired performance from the England midfielder in what is a must-win for the Anfield side.

Everton, meanwhile, also have injury concerns, with Victor Anichebe, Steven Pienaar, Louis Saha and Jack Rodwell all missing. Manager David Moyes hopes home court advantage will inspire the Blues to take three points from the game and move up the points table.

The Toffees will look to Tim Cahill to provide the impetus, even as the Reds will miss the services of Daniel Agger, Fabio Aurelio and Paul Konchesky due to injury.

The following players were in Everton’s starting eleven for their 2-0 win against Birmingham on 2 October: Tim Howard, Phil Neville, Sylvain Distin, Philip Jagielka, Leighton Baines, Seamus Coleman, Marouane Fellaini, Mikel Arteta, Leon Osman, Tim Cahill, Yakubu.

Substitutes for the match were: Barkley, Jermaine Bedford, Diniyar Bilyaletdinov, John Heitinga, Magaye Gueye, Tony Hibbert, Jan Mucha.

Liverpool included the following players in their last league game against Blackpool, a game the Reds lost 2-1: Jose Manuel (Pepe) Reina, Glen Johnson, Sotiros Kyrgiakos, Martin Skrtel, Jamie Carragher, Christian Poulsen, Raul Meireles , Dirk Kuyt, Steven Gerrard, Joe Cole, Fernando Torres.

The substitutes were: Milan Jovanovic, Lucas, David Ngog, Jay Spearing, Martin Kelly, Maxi Rodriguez, Brad Jones.