What Is the Merseyside Derby?

The Merseyside derby is the Premier League fixture between Everton and Liverpool. Under the league's 20-club format, the two sides meet twice every season, once at each ground, as part of the 38-match home-and-away schedule. That structure is the real story of the fixture: a derby in the Premier League is not a cup tie, it is a league match worth exactly three points.

Most rivalries are defined by atmosphere or history. The Merseyside derby is defined by a fixture list. The league sends every club to every other ground once, with 20 clubs producing 38 matches per side and 380 matches in total. Liverpool and Everton therefore meet twice in a normal season, and each meeting matters exactly as much as any other league game. That is easy to miss because derbies feel bigger, but the points column does not care.

The mechanism

The mechanism is simple. The Premier League has 20 clubs, and each plays 38 matches, one home and one away against the other 19. That creates 380 matches per season. Three points go to the winner, one point to each side if it is a draw. For Liverpool and Everton, the derby is two of those 38 matches. It is scheduled in the normal cycle, not as a special fixture with separate rules.

Each club can name a 25-player squad for players over 21, with at least 8 homegrown players trained in England or Wales for three years before turning 21. Under-21 players do not count against the 25. Matchday squads can use five substitutions, made in a maximum of three windows plus half-time. None of that changes for a derby.

The three-point rule has a subtle effect on a derby. A win is worth the same against a local rival as it is against the team in 19th place. This is why the Merseyside derby is best understood through the league table rather than through the emotion of the occasion. The emotion is real, but the mechanism is cold: two meetings, three points for a win, one for a draw, zero for a defeat.

History/evolution

The Premier League was founded on 20 February 1992, when First Division clubs broke away to negotiate their own broadcast deals. The first season in 1992/93 had 22 clubs, not 20. That meant the Merseyside derby was played inside a larger top-flight structure. In 1995/96 the league reduced to 20 clubs. From that point, the 38-match home-and-away format became the fixed frame for every club, including Liverpool and Everton.

The breakaway changed the financial context of every fixture. Clubs negotiated their own broadcast deals, so a derby became a guaranteed television product. But the change did not alter the basic league mathematics. Each club still needed results across a full league season, and the derby was worth the same two league meetings as any other home-and-away pair.

The reduction from 22 to 20 clubs is the most important historical detail for the derby. It set the league at 380 matches per season and fixed the number of Merseyside derbies in a normal season at two. In the league itself, the structure guarantees two meetings per season.

What the derby means in the table

Because every club plays 38 matches, a single derby is one data point in a long season. The danger of the fixture is treating it as a separate competition. A win against the nearest rival still produces three points, the same as a win against the bottom side. A defeat is not two points worse than a draw; it is a zero-point result that can be balanced by the next fixture. The table does not add a bonus for beating a neighbour.

The tiebreakers are where the derby can linger. Points come first, then goal difference. A late derby goal that turns a defeat into a draw changes the points total by one, but a late goal that turns a draw into a win changes it by two. In a 38-match season, those small movements are what separate the top four from fifth place, or 17th from 18th. The derby is not exempt from that math.

For European places, the typical Premier League structure sends the top four to the Champions League league phase, fifth and the FA Cup winner to the Europa League, and the League Cup winner to the Conference League play-off. If the derby helps a club finish fifth rather than sixth, that is the difference between two European competitions. That is a real consequence, separate from the atmosphere.

Edge cases

The league's tiebreakers are the first edge case. If two clubs finish level on points, the Premier League uses goal difference, then goals scored, then head-to-head record. If the position still cannot be separated and it decides the title, relegation or European qualification, a play-off at a neutral venue may be used. For a derby, this matters because local rivals often end a season close together in the table.

Squad rules create another edge case. A club might want to rotate for a derby, but the 25-player squad list for players over 21 is fixed, with at least 8 homegrown players. Under-21 players are not in that cap, so they are available without taking a senior slot. The five-substitution rule, with a maximum of three windows plus half-time, gives both managers room to change a derby late. It applies equally to both sides, which is why the edge case is about depth rather than rules.

European qualification is a quieter edge case. The top four reach the Champions League league phase. Fifth and the FA Cup winner reach the Europa League, while the League Cup winner goes to the Conference League play-off. If a club that reaches a European place via the league also wins a cup, the cup place passes down. A derby goal can change goal difference, and goal difference is the second tiebreaker after points. That is how a drawn derby can hurt one club in May even though it produced a single point for each.

Key takeaways

• The Merseyside derby is played twice every Premier League season under the 20-club, 38-match home-and-away format.
• A derby win is worth three points, the same as any other league match, and a draw gives each club one point.
• The Premier League started with 22 clubs in 1992/93 and moved to 20 in 1995/96, which set the league at 380 matches per season.
• Squad rules place a 25-player limit on senior players, with at least 8 homegrown players, and allow five substitutes in three windows plus half-time.
• Tiebreakers matter in a derby season: points, goal difference, goals scored, head-to-head, then a possible neutral-venue play-off for a decisive position.

FAQ

How many Merseyside derbies are there in a league season?

Two, once at each ground. The Premier League has 20 clubs and each club plays 38 matches, home and away, so Liverpool and Everton meet twice in a normal season.

What happens if the Merseyside derby ends in a draw?

Each club gets one point. If the teams finish level on points at the end of the season, the league uses goal difference, goals scored and head-to-head before considering a play-off at a neutral venue.

How many substitutions can each team make in the derby?

Five substitutions per match, made in a maximum of three windows plus half-time. The rule is the same for every Premier League match.

Do derby goals count differently in FPL?

No. A goal is worth 6 points for a defender, 5 for a midfielder and 4 for a forward. A clean sheet is worth 4 for a defender or goalkeeper and 1 for a midfielder. The captain scores double.