What The Papers Say - 18 September

The views on this page are taken from the local and national media and do not necessarily reflect the views of Everton.

Ahead of Saturday's Merseyside derby at Anfield (12.30pm BST kick-off), Liverpool World ponders the latest team news for the Blues.

Jarrad Branthwaite has yet to feature this season due to a hamstring injury, while Vitalii Mykolenko has missed three of the four Premier League fixtures so far.

The online outlet features quotes from David Moyes from last week's press conferences before the clash with Aston Villa regarding their recoveries, but did not confirm when they are expected to return.

"Jarrad is getting closer but he's not quite there yet," Moyes commented. "He's certainly getting closer and hopefully we get him back because he's a huge player for us. He's a player we value highly and someone we have lots of hopes for, so we're looking forward to getting him back."

"Hopefully he [Mykolenko] might be okay [for the Aston Villa match]. He had felt something in the game against Wolves and he'd made it known but he felt that he was fine to go to Ukraine, but once he got there he felt that maybe he wasn't quite right so he came away from it."

Meanwhile, the Liverpool ECHO focuses on Tottenham Hotspur Women's manager Martin Ho's praise for Everton Women's move to Goodison Park.

The Liverpool-born coach was an Everton Academy player in his youth and Everton Women assistant manager between 2015 and 2018, and was impressed with the stadium's revamp after leading Spurs out on Sunday afternoon.

"Coming back here was an unbelievable feeling. As soon as you come in here, you feel intimidated because the stadium is quite enclosed," Ho said.

"That’s one thing I said to the players before the game, we have to expect it to be a bit hostile. I thought the fans were brilliant and they brought an atmosphere.

"The way it’s been revamped, it’s totally different now to what it was when I was here previously. But it’s a beautiful place, rich in history and there are so many memories for me here from when I was in WSL 2 with the Women’s team and I have a lot of respect and a lot of love for this club.

"It’s massive for me. For it to be the first game when this is now their home ground, it was a really nice moment for me but it’s also probably a really nice moment for everyone who is around the club and all the staff.

"Some people have been here a long time so to have this as the Women’s home team ground moving forward is a big occasion for the club, Brian and his team and the wider staff. It’s an amazing opportunity for our players to play here and they’ve embraced that."

Everton Women are back in Goodison Park action on Friday evening against London City Lionesses (7.30pm BST kick-off). Tickets for the clash are available by clicking here.