Thank heavens it's over! Liverpool FC are in new hands and with the news of NESV's takeover dove-tailing beautifully with this weekend's Merseyside derby, Saturday's newspapers can kill two birds with one stone.

While NESV promise a new are for Liverpool, Everton are still seeking a sugar daddy to takeover at the Toffees but the match at Goodison will provide a barometer of which of the two struggling clubs, currently lying in 18th and 19th in the Premier League, have the advantage where it counts - on the pitch.

Writing in the Daily Mirror, former Liverpool defender Mark Lawrenson explains why he thinks this Merseyside derby shows how far Everton have come - and how far Liverpool have slipped:

"I cannot remember a Merseyside derby with both teams at the bottom end of the table. Nor can I recall the last time Everton go into the match with the stronger team and better players. Everyone knows about the big stars in the Liverpool side but the rest of the line-up is pretty ordinary.

And if I were picking a combined Merseyside XI, Mikel Arteta, Tim Cahill, Jack Rodwell, Leighton Baines and Phil Neville would all be included. That is half the outfield players – and the rest of the Everton players are probably stronger than their Liverpool counterparts.

It just shows how well David Moyes spent his money compared to Rafa Benitez. And it indicates how far the Goodison Park club have come – or how far Liverpool have slipped.

At least the stench of Tom Hicks and George Gillett will finally be lifted from Anfield after their ­unedifying final few days. Even at the last minute, Hicks had the chance to leave with a big of dignity if he had said it was a business deal that went wrong. He would not have been loved, but at least people would have understood.

Instead, even as he tried to cling on to a life-raft in mid-Atlantic, the American has demonstrated one final time how he just does not get the club and what it means."

In The Guardian, David Lacey concurs that it will be a very even, if somewhat extraordinary, affair at Goodison but the spot light will be on Roy Hodgson's struggling Liverpool team, given their labours on the field and problems off it.

"It would be a rare Merseyside derby that found both of the participants in the bottom three, yet this will be the scenario at Goodison on Sunday should tomorrow's game between Wolves and West Ham produce a winner. If that happens Everton will be 18th and Liverpool 19th and the Premier League table, especially for Manchester United supporters, will be one to cut out and keep.

At this early stage of the season such a situation is more of a curiosity than a portent. Should either or both teams still be in the relegation area when they meet at Anfield in the new year, fans and boardrooms alike will begin to fret in earnest. For the moment it is safe to assume that Everton and Liverpool are experiencing an autumn chill rather than a winter freeze.

At least Everton are used to it. For several seasons now they have resembled a car with a dodgy battery, needing a good shove to get the engine running properly. Liverpool, on the other hand, have not experienced so bad a start, one win in seven games, since the 1953-54 season which eventually saw them relegated.

Inevitably the bulk of the attention will be on Roy Hodgson's struggling Liverpool team, given their labours on the field and problems off it. Everton may be short of cash and in more urgent need than ever of a new and bigger stadium, but at least they have not been waking up each day wondering who will buy them next."