Rafael Benitez has mixed reviews on both Liverpool and Everton of Merseyside.
From a Liverpool perspective, he’s hailed as the man behind the famous night in Istanbul that saw the Reds come from 3-0 down to win the Champions League.
Meanwhile, over at Everton, he isn’t as popular.
Booed, jeered and never warmed to from day one, Benitez was out of the door in less than a season.
This weekend will see the Toffees go up against their city rivals in what will be an emotional fixture due to it being the final Merseyside derby at Goodison Park before the move to the Bramley Moore Dock Stadium.
Form goes out of the window in these sorts of games and having managed both clubs, Benitez has often been asked to predict how it will go.
Rafael Benitez revealed his true thoughts on Everton
Benitez knew what he was walking to when he took the Everton job.
It was natural that fans would feel some hostility towards him – the exact same happened to the Spaniard when he temporarily took charge of Chelsea.
But despite having a six-year love affair at Anfield, Benitez has never criticised Everton and when writing in Crossing the Park: The Men Who Dared to Play for Both Liverpool and Everton, a book that came out in 2023, the 64-year-old said he couldn’t pick between the two should he ever be forced to predict a game between them.
He said: “I feel at home in Merseyside, my family is completely at home here and that is important. The Liverpool fans are still kind and close today, many of the Everton fans know what actually happened and are, let’s say, friendly.
“I can’t say I’m more Liverpool or Everton today. Logically, in six years there were a lot of highs at Liverpool, but I still have good friends amongst the Everton fans.
“I’d rather not talk about the bad moments. I don’t think that managing Everton tarnished my reputation at Anfield; the Liverpool fans understood that my family and my home are here and that I hadn’t been managing for a while, so many accepted this.”
Everton vs Liverpool H2H
In recent years the Toffees have managed to exert some revenge on Liverpool after going 11 years without a win until the famous 2-0 win under Carlo Ancelotti in February 2021.
They also won the most recent Merseyside derby in April, which all-but-ended Liverpool’s title hopes and gave Jurgen Klopp an ending to forget.
| Games Won | 84 |
| Games Drawn | 86 |
| Games Lost | 125 |
Liverpool are the clear frontrunners in the head-to-head battle having won over 100 times against the Blues.
Arne Slot’s side will be favourites for the trip as the Premier League’s current table toppers however, with Sean Dyche facing a fight to keep his job, beating the arch rivals could keep him in the dugout for a while longer.
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