Everton 0-1 Liverpool: Premier League as it happened

That is all for this particular blog, but stay tuned to IBTimes UK for post-match reaction.

Our live text returns on Boxing Day, with an eight-game slate throwing up fixtures including Manchester United vs Sunderland, Arsenal vs West Brom, Chelsea vs Bournemouth and Hull vs Manchester City.

Thanks for joining me. I hope you all have a very merry Christmas.

A dramatic late victory for Liverpool, who replace Manchester City in second and cut the gap to leaders Chelsea to six points ahead of a Boxing Day meeting with Stoke. The Reds entertain City at Anfield on New Year's Eve.

Everton's poor derby record continues, meanwhile. Koeman's side remain ninth and close out 2016 with back-to-back away games against defending champions Leicester and rock-bottom Hull.

Full-time

Everton 0-1 Liverpool

Liverpool come within a whisker of doubling their advantage, only for a superb last-ditch block from Coleman to deny Firmino.

Unsavoury scenes now with a flare and an intruder on the pitch.

Utter despair from Everton as Liverpool net what will surely prove to be the winning goal in stoppage time.

Clyne passes to substitute Sturridge, who powers past Baines before rolling a low shot against the base of the post.

Never one to lack pace, Mane reacts ahead of Funes Mori, Williams and Joel to tuck home the rebound from close range.

Queue pandemonium in the away end and in the visiting dugout.

Goal: Everton 0-1 Liverpool (Sadio Mane)

Koeman fails to hide his frustration on the touchline after a woeful cross from Barkley ends up in the stands.

It's just not working out for him at the moment.

Joel fails to deal with a Liverpool corner, but Williams is able to clear after a back-post knockdown from Klavan.

We knew that injury to Stekelenburg would result in an extended period of stoppage time. The fourth official signals EIGHT minutes.

Coleman fends off Firmino's latest attempt with a brave block.

Liverpool continue to force the pace before Can slices a pass horribly out of play.

Gana becomes the latest player to be cautioned for steaming into the back of international colleague Mane.

He can expect a ticking off from Senegal head coach Aliou Cisse for that one. The 2017 Africa Cup of Nations gets underway in Gabon on 14 January.

Already lucky not to have been shown a straight red card, Barkley is walking on incredibly thin ice at Goodison.

After Lukaku is whistled for a foul on Lovren, the 23-year-old kicks the ball away before engaging in a war of words with Henderson.

Not smart.

Klopp takes advantage of his bench, sending on returning duo Can and Sturridge. Lallana and Origi make way.

Joel keeps out Firmino's inventive volley with a fine save low to his left.

Origi then gets two chances to cross, but the first is blocked by Baines and the second cleared by Funes Mori. The striker is then penalised for handball.

Almost a chance for Liverpool as Coleman does well to prevent Origi from meeting Mane's deflected low cutback.

Firmino then tries to dispatch Clyne's cross with a difficult bicycle kick but gets it all wrong.

Lots of fouls being committed now that are sapping any rhythm from the game.

Lovren, already on a booking, is draped all over Barkley. The latter's free-kick is nodded straight at Mignolet by Williams.

Koeman goes ahead with a substitution that he apparently had planned even before Stekelenburg's injury. 19-year-old forward Dominic Calvert-Lewin, signed from Sheffield United in August, replaces Valencia for the second game in succession.

Barkley has his name taken for a shocking late challenge on Henderson that could easily have merited a red card.

Lukaku takes exception to Lovren's irate response and that sparks handbags between both sets of players.

Coleman then joins Barkley in the book.

After a lengthy stoppage that will no doubt lead to plenty of injury time, the game restarts.

Stekelenburg, sporting a very pained expression, continues to struggle and Koeman has evidently seen enough.

He finally limps off slowly with help from the Everton physio and Joel comes on in his place. The Spaniard's only previous appearance this season came in October's 2-0 win over West Ham.

A delay now as Stekelenburg, clearly in a considerable deal of pain, limps around trying to shake off that knock.

Joel Robles warms up on the touchline but it looks like the Dutchman will continue for now. Williams takes over goal kick duties for the time being.

Baines and Stekelenburg collide in their attempts to prevent Mane from running on to a lovely backheel pass from Firmino.

The goalkeeper certainly seems to have come off worse from that collision.

Lovren is nutmegged by Lukaku and blatantly blocks off the striker to earn the first yellow card of the evening.

Valencia tries to sidestep Milner and is dispossessed in a dangerous area. The Ecuadorian then breathes a sigh of relief as Gana comes away with the ball instead of Firmino.

At the other end, Lukaku gets in behind Klavan to loop Barry's centre over the crossbar. That was a difficult header to execute on the turn.

Some serious pressure is being applied by Liverpool now. Firmino barges Funes Mori out of the way all too easily and sees a shot saved by Stekelenburg.

The Brazilian lofts the rebound into the box, but Lallana and Mane get in each other's way before Clyne's subsequent drive is blocked by a sliding Funes Mori.

Liverpool have started on the front foot in this second 45. After being released by Mane, Milner cuts inside Valencia and swings in a deep cross that is headed away by Baines.

Henderson then flights in his team's first corner of the game. Everton eventually clear their lines despite the best efforts of Klavan.

This is Barry's 610th Premier League outing. That sees him move one clear of Frank Lampard in the all-time appearance list.

Ryan Giggs leads the way with 632.

Everton are making a change at the break. McCarthy looked to suffer a hamstring injury during that first half and has now been replaced by Barry.

The second half is now underway.

Something Klopp will be very keen to correct, you imagine...

All square at the break. Everton set a brisk tempo from the off and were comfortably the better side during the opening exchanges, but Liverpool weathered the storm and have come into the game.

It's been a fairly frantic first half notably short on quality. No shots on target from either team as of yet.

Will Everton regret not scoring when they were on top?

Half-time

Everton 0-0 Liverpool

Barkley concedes a free-kick with a mistimed sliding challenge on Origi, who is then given a bit of rough treatment by McCarthy.

Stekelenburg punches clear before the ball can reach Klavan at the back post. That should do it for the opening 45 minutes.

One minute of added time is signalled by fourth official Lee Mason.

Valencia wins a corner for Everton over on the far side and Barkley's delivery is headed wide by Funes Mori.

Liverpool appeared to be marking zonally there and had no-one near the Argentine, save for a late effort from Firmino.

After a stoppage that has helped to drain much of the atmosphere from the game, Liverpool and Lallana probe patiently for an opening. However, their attack comes to an end with a rogue pass from Mane that sails out of play for a goal kick amid ironic cheers from the home contingent.

Coleman and Lallana exchange a few angry words before James McCarthy is left requiring treatment after an innocuous collision with Firmino.

After Dean rightly waves away a handball appeal from Coleman on Jordan Henderson, Liverpool pour forward at pace.

Wijnaldum finds Clyne in acres of space following a Mane dummy and the England right-back's low ball is thrashed wide by Origi.

Liverpool are beginning to enjoy the lion's share of possession now, but Everton continue to press high up the pitch.

10 minutes of the first half left to play and neither side is yet to fashion a meaningful attempt on goal.

Clyne strides forward but is unable to control a useful pass from Firmino.

Funes Mori then shows great strength to emerge victorious from his first real battle with Origi.

Baines' foul on Clyne allows James Milner the chance to send a decent ball into the Everton area. However, Dean spots some grappling in the box and awards the hosts a free-kick.

Having received possession from Nathaniel Clyne, Firmino tees up Georginio Wijnaldum for a hopeful drive that never came close to testing Maarten Stekelenburg in the Everton net.

Great tempo and intensity from Everton just at the moment. Klavan has to be alert to stop Lukaku from turning home a Lennon cross from close range and Barkley, his shirt already torn, drags a low shot wide of Mignolet's right-hand post.

Still goalless, but the Toffees are doing all of the running. How Koeman would love them to take advantage of this spell of dominance with a goal.

You suspect that Liverpool won't remain so passive for long.

While yet to create any golden opportunities, Everton have looked far more purposeful during this opening 20 minutes.

Coleman's latest cross towards Barkley, recently linked with a January move to Tottenham, is hacked clear by Klavan.

Cruel. Liverpool fans unfurl a banner mocking Everton's 21-year trophy drought...

Liverpool are yet to settle into any kind of pattern going forward and Mane skews a pass behind for a goal kick after being unable to shake off the attentions of Gana.

West Ham loanee Enner Valencia strikes a central free-kick straight into the Liverpool wall after being felled by Firmino around 25 yards from goal.

It's been a positive start from Everton. Before that infringement, Aaron Lennon saw a low shot blocked by Lovren. The rebound seemed to take Ross Barkley somewhat by surprise.

Idrissa Gana Gueye, who spoke this week of his friendly rivalry with Senegal teammate and "real character" Sadio Mane, dispossesses Roberto Firmino and sends Lukaku forward on the counter-attack.

The Belgian striker runs at Klavan before producing an overhit cross that runs out of play on the near side.

A vibrant early atmosphere inside Goodison, as you would expect.

Seamus Coleman, who scored Everton's first goal against Arsenal last Tuesday, gets forward down that right flank and whips in a dangerous cross towards Romelu Lukaku that is headed away by Lovren.

Tranmere fan and Wirral native Mike Dean, an interesting choice of official given that he has not refereed either of these teams for over a decade and was taken off the 2006 FA Cup final between Liverpool and West Ham due to "comment and debate which could place him under undue additional pressure", gets the 227th Merseyside derby off and running.

Both sides are donning their home strips, with Liverpool kicking from left to right in this first half.

It is fair to say that this particular rivalry has been a little one-sided in recent years. Everton's only previous win against Liverpool in the last 19 meetings came back in October 2010, when Tim Cahill and Mikel Arteta struck to ensure that John W Henry's reign as Reds owner began on a sour note.

Liverpool are unbeaten in their last 12 matches against Everton, a run that includes five wins and seven draws.

"It's not good, one out of 19," Koeman said of that poor derby record. "You need to accept how difficult it is, win the game and make the fans happy."

Klopp also made headlines last week by revealing that his first impressions of Everton's home ground had been formed by watching 2015 Rocky spin-off Creed, a film in which Adonis Creed lands a world title shot against 'Pretty' Ricky Conlan - played by Evertonian boxer Tony Bellew - at Goodison Park.

"When I came home I had nothing to do so I decided to watch a film, I found Creed and it was really good but I had no idea Goodison played a part," he said, while also recalling the time when his attempts to use Rocky and Ivan Drago in a team talk at Borussia Dortmund drew nothing but puzzled looks. "There are not a lot of coincidences in life but this was my first impression. It looked good.

"The favourite was from Liverpool but I have a little bit of sympathy with the other guy. Rocky is a wonderful story, I've loved it my whole life. Maybe some time I will go to the steps in Philadelphia, but not this week."

Klopp, meanwhile, has spoken of the need for his players to maintain their composure amid a hostile atmosphere. Liverpool have come away with a draw on all of their previous four visits to Goodison, including a 1-1 tie in October 2015 that proved to be the last match of Brendan Rodgers' three-and-a-half year tenure.

"You need to keep your nerves, you need to be emotional," Klopp said. "It sounds like a challenge and it is a challenge. You need to play at your best and you need to know about the motivation of the other team. Everybody always makes it bigger after the game than it is, especially if you win. If you win it then everything is good, but it causes you a lot of problems if you lose it.

"It's not that you talk about it for five weeks if you win it but very often it's like this if you lose it, so it's pressure of course, but I like these situations. It's not about ignoring the circumstances, it's about using the circumstances.

"And we spoke a little bit about this in the last few weeks, about this kind of being angry but in a sports way angry. That's really important in a game like this. In preparation for a game you don't have to talk too much about motivation and things like this because if you respect your team and you know about the character of your team then it's clear they are full of motivation.

"So it's really more about doing the right thing in the right moment, even in a very emotional atmosphere. It's good and we all love it. We all want a loud stadium, a really emotional crowd around and all that stuff, even though most of them will be on Everton's side, but that's no problem because it's so loud it could be a target to cool them down a little bit with the way you play.

"The last game against Arsenal was a good example. In the first few minutes, Arsenal were really strong and it was not the best atmosphere but the moment the crowd saw them starting to strike back then it was a really good atmosphere. We watched the game in our hotel. It was good to see from a neutral perspective. But our job is to make Goodison Park as quiet as possible."

Some pre-match thoughts from Koeman ahead of his first Merseyside derby experience...

"We had a good game against Arsenal with the way we played, how we pressed and that aggression - and that is what we'd like to keep. It's a special feeling to be involved in this derby. Everybody knows it and it's always a bit different for everyone involved."

Funes Mori's return pits him against in-form Liverpool striker Divock Origi, who has scored five goals in his last five appearances.

It will be the first time those two players have gone head-to-head since a 4-0 Liverpool win at Anfield in April, when an awful challenge from Funes Mori resulted in a straight red card and required Origi to be stretchered off the pitch.

Speaking about that reunion this week, Origi, who spent almost a month on the sidelines with an ankle injury before returning to fitness for the Europa League final defeat to Sevilla in Basel, revealed that the apology he received for that tackle was actually an official message.

"These are things that happen," he said, according to The Guardian. "I came back stronger and I have to continue growing. These things happen in a football career. I received an official message. I keep on looking forward and I am very excited for the next game. How will I feel? I don't know who is playing but I am very motivated."

On the derby itself, he added: "It will be a war, so we go there in a very positive way. You want to win this game, you know it will not be easy, it is a derby so it will be special and a very big and important game for us as a club also. We have to prepare it well."

One change from Koeman, who unsurprisingly opts for Ramiro Funes Mori as a replacement for the suspended Jagielka. Barry comes onto the bench alongside 19-year-old academy graduate Jonjoe Kenny.

There is no place in Everton's 18 for Gerard Deulofeu.

Klopp resists making any changes to his starting XI following that Adam Lallana-inspired win at the Riverside, although Can and Sturridge both feature among the substitutes. Kevin Stewart and Ovie Ejaria drop out.

As expected, Matip is not yet ready to return. The former Schalke stalwart has proven an influential figure during his first season at Anfield and his continued absence comes as a considerable blow to a defence that has been frequently chastised as Liverpool's achilles heel.

Liverpool XI: Mignolet, Clyne, Lovren, Klavan, Milner, Henderson (c), Wijnaldum, Lallana, Mane, Firmino, Origi

Subs: Karius, Moreno, Lucas, Can, Alexander-Arnold, Woodburn, Sturridge

Everton XI: Stekelenburg, Coleman, Funes Mori, Williams, Baines (c), Gana, McCarthy, Lennon, Barkley, Valencia, Lukaku

Subs: Joel, Kenny, Holgate, Barry, Cleverley, Mirallas, Calvert-Lewin

Here comes the official team news...

The oft-maligned Simon Mignolet will continue as first-choice goalkeeper for Liverpool tonight after keeping a clean sheet in last week's comfortable 3-0 win over Middlesbrough. He was brought in to replace Loris Karius, who has barely been off the back pages in recent weeks due to a string of high-profile errors and a very public feud with the Neville brothers.

Daniel Sturridge could return to the bench after a calf injury sustained before last month's 2-0 win over Sunderland, with Klopp stating that having him for just 20 minutes would be "fantastic".

Emre Can and Joel Matip were both set to be assessed ahead of this evening's match after knee and ankle problems respectively, but it has been reported in the last few hours that the latter has lost his battle to be fit and will not be risked. Ragnar Klavan should continue at centre-back alongside Dejan Lovren.

Philippe Coutinho [ankle] and Marko Grujic [tendon] are also still absent. Danny Ings and Adam Bogdan will not play again this season due to serious knee injuries.

Everton will be without Phil Jagielka tonight after the experienced captain was dismissed for two bookable offences against Arsenal. However, evergreen midfielder Gareth Barry, who recently joined teammates Leighton Baines and Mason Holgate in signing a contract extension, should feature again after being handed a rest.

Long-term absentee Muhamed Besic is aiming to be back in training by February following cruciate knee ligament surgery, while young defender Matthew Pennington remains sidelined with a hamstring issue.

£25m summer signing Yannick Bolasie has been ruled out for the rest of the season - including January's Africa Cup of Nations - due to anterior cruciate ligament damage suffered during the 1-1 draw with Manchester United.

"Yannick had his first surgery yesterday," Ronald Koeman said of Bolasie's progress during his pre-match press conference at Finch Farm on Friday. "The first operation was about his meniscus, now the boy has to wait eight to 10 weeks to have the big surgery on his ACL.

"It is a really tough injury and he will be out for a long time. It's really hard for Yannick but the boy is positive, we will support him and he will come back stronger."

Good evening and a very warm welcome to IBTimes UK's live coverage of the last Premier League fixture before Christmas. We don't just have any old dull, nondescript fixture to bring you tonight, but rather a potentially explosive 227th Merseyside derby clash between Everton and local rivals Liverpool.

The free-scoring visitors, who have suffered just one defeat in their past 14 matches, can jump above Manchester City into second and reduce the gap to dominant leaders Chelsea from nine to six points with a victory on Jurgen Klopp's first visit to Goodison Park.

However, Everton are traditionally strong at home and should feel rejuvenated after a late winner from boyhood Reds fan Ashley Williams dented Arsenal's title hopes last week. That 2-1 triumph was only the Toffees' second win in 11 top-flight matches.

This has the potential to be a cracker, so put down your wrapping paper, grab a glass of mulled wine and stay tuned for all the pre-match build up including the latest injury news.

Live updates to follow after kick-off at 20.00 GMT.