Tony Bellew and David Price are chasing world title dreams in the ring.
Loading Market ...
Football Betting
Bet £5 Get £20 Free
Live Ford Saturday Night Football
Everton vs Liverpool
February 7, 2015, 4:45pm
Remote Record
- Get a Sky Sports Pass
- Upgrade to Sky Sports
But before both of them climb back between the ropes there is a small scrap to sort out, a domestic dust-up to deal with, one that neither will want to lose – the Merseyside derby.
In the blue corner, Bellew is a lifelong Everton fan who wears blue shorts, carries the club crest on his kit and walks in to the Z Cars theme tune.
In the red corner, Price is a 2008 Olympic bronze medallist who supports Liverpool and has had an Anfield season ticket.
Bellew is currently out in Philadelphia acting in Rocky spin-off Creed, while Price is two weeks away from a crucial fight in Germany that you can see live on Sky Sports. Both might be busy but will definitely be watching Saturday's match, so who better to set the scene before the first bell rings...
When was the first derby you went to?
Tony says: My eldest brother Craig snuck me in! He shouldn't even have snuck me out of the house because my dad is a Kopite! We definitely won and I am never going to forget that for those reasons alone. But Peter Beardsley scored, I know that much. (1992)
David says: My first one was unofficial. I lived opposite the Kop, literally a stone’s throw away. I must have been about seven and we used to run over when the gates opened to let the fans out. We ran over for the last 15 minutes of a derby that Liverpool won 3-2 in 1989. My next one was when we lost 2-0 at Goodison in 1994. I was in the front row of the highest stand. There were no safety nets and you were scared to stand up – but we lost anyway!
What's been your best derby day?
Andy Johnson: Scored two goals in a game Bellew loves, Price loathes!
Tony says: I've got plenty! We'll start off at Anfield, that night in 1999 when we beat them 1-0 and Kevin Campbell scored. Then there was the year, in 2006, when we absolutely trounced them 3-0. Andy Johnson scored two and we humiliated Pepe Reina which was quite good. There's been a lot of them.
David says: I'd have to go for 'The Gary McAllister One' in 2001 but for some reason I wasn’t there. So the best game I was at was when we won 2-0 and Fernando Torres was on fire – he scored both. It was in September 2008 because I’d just got home from the Olympics and was invited as a guest to Goodison... and I was in the Everton end. But I celebrated anyway!
What about your worst one?
Bellew coaches Carragher
Tony says: Well, of course, there has been plenty of those too! That Steven Gerrard hat-trick at Anfield, in midweek a couple of years ago. To make it even worse, he scored that hat-trick goal in the last minute. It was one of the worst nights of my life, it really was. It still upsets me talking about it.
David says: It's got to be when they beat us 3-0 at Goodison in 2006. I was in the Everton end again but didn’t get to celebrate this time. And it was that bad I got off before the end. I remember Andy Johnson had scored one already but I'd left before he scored again.
The best derby goal you've seen?
Patrik Berger: Trickled one in to end Davis Price's dark school days...
Tony says: The one Olivier Dacourt scored at Liverpool back in 1999 was a blinder. Trouble was, he scored too early – inside the first minute I think – and we were beaten 3-2 in the end. But the one that will always stand out, even if I was way too young to be there, is that absolute screamer by Graeme Sharp, at Anfield, to beat them 1-0 in 1984.
David says: There’s been so many but there's one that means a lot to me. Back in 1999 we couldn’t beat Everton for love nor money and we’d argue at school about it all day long until we played on Easter Saturday. Steven Gerrard came on as sub and cleared the ball off the line with minutes to go – but the goal was by Patrik Berger and we won 3-2. He scored a volley from the edge of the box that trickled in and put us within touching distance of finally beating them.
Is this football's friendliest rivarly?
"There are a lot of bitter Evertonians! You get some who’d rather see Liverpool lose than Everton win."
David Price, Liverpool fan
Tony says: That's a tough one! There's no violence at derby games, well not on my side of things – and other members of my family, like my dad, and members of my girlfriend's family are Kopites so it's friendly in that respect. But trust me, there's no love lost on the day and I want to beat them more than anyone else. If you win, you go to work on Monday morning and you are gloating.
David says: On match days, no. It depends what type of person you’re dealing with because there are a lot of bitter Evertonians! You get some who’d rather see Liverpool lose than Everton win... and I'm not kidding either. But I know bitter Liverpudlians to be fair who love it when Everton are beaten, too. The rest of the year, we’re friends and a lot of the time, we are family.
Which derby foe have you feared down the years?
Andrei Kanchelskis: Was threat whenever he got the ball. against Liverpool, says Price
Tony says: Simple, Steven Gerrard. No doubt about it. He's the one that has broken my heart on too many occasions and he's the one that can do anything he wants once he's put his mind to it. As much as I am a crazy Blue, Steven Gerrard is an amazing player – and he has done it for years. He carried that club on his shoulders for a decade.
David says: Andrei Kanchelskis. When he was at Everton he was a top, top player and scored twice at Anfield once. He was one of those players that when the ball landed at his feet you’d expect something to happen. Duncan Ferguson as well, was always one you knew was going to do something. He was always a threat.
Which derby foe would you like to fight in the ring?
"Luis Suarez. No one comes close to that. I cannot stand him."
Tony Bellew, Everton fan
Tony says: Luis Suarez. No one comes close to that. I cannot stand him. And let's be honest, in a ring he could bite me all he likes – I would love to take him on. Let's leave it at that.
David says: Do you know who used to wind me up? David Unsworth, the defender. Because he thought he was a big hard-case and he wasn’t! Maybe he is, maybe he’s a dead nice fella! But on the pitch he got Robbie Fowler sent off once, who was my hero, and I didn’t like him for it. He’s the perfect height for me, a bit short, I’d keep him off with my jab!
How do you feel about Steven Gerrard's departure?
Steven Gerrard: Even Evertonian Tony Bellew will not be happy to see him leave Liverpool
Tony says: At the end of the day I try and seperate my emotions and football and Steven Gerrard is just a Scouser who has done really, really well. Good on him. He's an amazing footballer and meeting him for the first time last year – he's just a nice guy. I wouldn't say I'll be sad to see him go but I'm not going to say I'll be happy to see him go, either.
David says: I’m not happy but I understand why, on both sides. For his own reasons and the club’s reason. There comes a time when you have to draw a line under things. I think he can offer something to the team but the team can function without him. If he wanted to stay he should have able to because we owe him everything. The word is he wanted to stay so he deserved to. But he won’t regret the move because he’ll love California. Better standard of life, better weather, better everything.
Finally, the knockout punch... prediction time!
Tony says: I'm just worried to be totally honest. Daniel Sturridge is back and he's a massive player for them and they've got pace all over the all over the park – and I'm hoping Gerrard doesn't play. I'm a bit sceptical but if Romelu Lukaku is on his game and we can get Ross Barkley back to anything like his best and Kevin Mirallas firing on all cylinders, I'm hoping 1-0 Everton. But I am going for 1-1.
David says: I usually sit on the fence in derbies but I can’t see Liverpool not winning. Sturridge is back, the whole team is starting to gel in the formation we’re playing. Everton have been poor, I know Evertonians who are panicking. To be honest, the way they behaved after Liverpool didn’t win the league last year, I wouldn’t shed a tear if they were relegated. 3-1 Liverpool.
Catch the Merseyside derby on Saturday at 5.30pm on Sky Sports 1 HD.