Adverse weather conditions on Saturday will cause Goodison Park to be directly in the line of fire. As such, the league fixture between Everton and Liverpool has been postponed.
It's been a bad week for Everton, with its stadiums getting flooded. This time, however, it's had an impact on the team, with a fixture delay the only logical outcome in what was set to be the final-ever Merseyside derby at Goodison Park.
Fans will now have to wait a little longer to see off the Grand Old Lady.
Goodison Park hit by storm Darragh
Today's Merseyside derby at Goodison Park has been postponed due to adverse weather conditions.
Full details to follow. pic.twitter.com/ikF8iJRTGs
— Everton (@Everton) December 7, 2024
While there was hope late last night that the fixture could still be played, early on Saturday, Everton confirmed that the fixture at Goodison Park could not happen. Storm Darragh, approaching Liverpool in a big way on Saturday, caused the delay. In a short statement on X, Everton stated: “Today's Merseyside derby at Goodison Park has been postponed due to adverse weather conditions”
For now, it remains the only fixture to officially have been called off, but it's expected many games in the North of the UK will likely suffer a similar fate. Winds of up to 90mph have been reported by the Met Office, with red warnings issued to areas of South Wales and Western England.
Everton vs Liverpool delayed
The historic derby is off, but when it will be played is yet to be confirmed. Information is scarce for now, but any hopes of the match being played on Sunday seem to be way off the mark.
For now, the priority will be to get information to fans and make sure that things are in place for any future fixture. Given Liverpool will likely go deep in the Champions League, and both clubs for now remain in the FA Cup, the fixture could very well get pushed back deep into the latter half of the season.
“Following a Safety Advisory Group meeting at Goodison Park, attended by officials from both clubs, as well as representatives from Merseyside Police and Liverpool City Council this morning, it was decided that, due to the risk to safety in the local area due to strong wind gusts, and an amber severe wind warning that remains in place until 6am on Sunday, today’s fixture should be postponed on safety grounds,” an official statement read.
Fans who have tickets will be given tickets for the rearranged fixture, though a possible date for that is impossible to know at this time.