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According to Sky Sports, 777 Partners have moved a step closer to a takeover at Everton after receiving a letter from the Premier League in which it said it is "minded to approve" the takeover.

It is reported the American group, who agreed a deal with majority shareholder Farhad Moshiri last September and have been waiting for the go-ahead since then, still need to meet a number of stringent conditions before full approval can be granted.

The process also needs to go through an independent oversight committee.

Elsewhere Liverpool Women’s manager Matt Beard blamed the pitch at Goodison Park for his side’s poor attacking showing in Sunday’s goalless derby draw in the Women's Super League.

Liverpool came into the contest with four wins from their past five matches but struggled to get past a robust Everton defence. 

As reported in the Daily Mirror, Beard said: "It didn't feel like a derby. The pitch was dry, the grass was long - it slowed a lot down. There were a lot of injuries and the game kept getting stopped. It was disappointing to play on a Premier League ground and the pitch to be as long and slow as it was. It definitely had an effect on our game."

In front of a bumper crowd at Goodison, Everton produced a strong showing, particularly in the second half where Lucy Hope went closest to sealing a victory when her powerful strike hit the underside of the bar. 

Finally, the Liverpool ECHO’s Chris Beesley has labelled this up-and-coming week as a potentially pivotal one in the Toffees’ season - but argues there should be cause for optimism. 

He writes: “Long trips to opposite ends of the country to face Bournemouth on Saturday and Newcastle United on Tuesday don’t necessarily fill beleaguered Blues with confidence – their team were well-beaten in both corresponding fixtures last season under Frank Lampard – there are still reasons to be optimistic. 

“This term they beat both opponents comprehensively at Goodison Park with a brace of 3-0 wins and the team have actually been better on their travels.

“The Club’s second PSR charge is to be heard this week and widespread fears that the Premier League seem to have been ‘making it up as they go along’ make it difficult to predict what could happen although there seems to be a strong case for avoiding ‘double jeopardy’ here given that the club say three-quarters of the time period was covered in their first charge.”