Opinion: A day for diverse heroes

There is always a Merseyside derby story.

There is always a hero and more often than not there's a villain, with the identities of which depending on whether you've entered the week - the month, the year, your life - wearing red or blue.

Characters, plots, sub-plots, twists and turns. They're all there and they're all remembered. But such is the nature of football fans, we often choose to remember the incidents which upset us rather than the ones we enjoyed.

And so, there will be plenty of Liverpool fans flocking to Anfield for Sunday's Merseyside derby determined to see their club enact some sort of 'revenge' for seeing what would have been a winning goal for Luis Suarez in the dying seconds of October's Goodison Park derby disallowed.

Similarly, speak to an Evertonian before Sunday and they'll have plenty of reasons why their club hasn't won at Anfield this century. Officials will star in many of them.

Such incidents aren't forgotten. Fans of both clubs could reel off a list of derby grievances on their short walks across Stanley Park and have plenty of time left over for further debates in The Arkles or The Albert.

But where once that park and those pubs would house the vast majority of derby-day discussion, these days it goes on all over the world.

Right now the thoughts ahead of the 220th meeting of red and blue will be dominating plenty of minds across the globe. How will Philippe Coutinho fare during his first taste of a Merseyside showdown? Ditto the similarly in-form Daniel Sturridge? Can David Moyes and his impressive Everton side register a first Anfield win for the Blues since 1999? Who will the story be about this time?

Suarez, Andy Carroll, Fernando Torres, Steven Gerrard, Nick Barmby, Robbie Fowler, Thomas Gravesen, Kevin Campbell, Don Hutchinson, Duncan Ferguson, Ian Rush, Ian Rush, Ian Rush and Ian Rush. The story is so often about such different and diverse characters (unless you're Ian Rush).

But where Rush and his goals once led, the current crop of players will hope to follow. This time, for instance, could it be Coutinho who sparkles on his derby debut?

The Brazilian's individual display in last week's win at Newcastle was surely one of the most impressive in the Reds' season.

Constantly wanting the ball and popping up in areas where he could hurt the hosts, his link with Sturridge is sure to be important in a contest that the Reds will enter in good heart.

Sturridge will surely enter it in a greater mood than most following his two goals at St James' Park. Derby debutants have so often written these stories and Liverpool couldn't wish to have two more exciting prospects in their side come Sunday.

Everton, too, have more than enough reasons to be confident. Still pushing for Europe, this surely represents a last chance to secure a top five place - but they have hardly looked intimidated by any challenge all season.

Their fans that enter Anfield on Sunday will be desperate for one of their own to write the story this time, and the battle for control of those storytelling privileges is sure to be as compelling as ever.

The narrative around derbies always seems to differ, but the desire to win remains the same.

The stories surrounding Suarez's disallowed winner, Rush's many, many goals, Campbell's early strike at the Kop end and Barmby's scriptwriter's dream of a header will be added to come Sunday afternoon.

So, who fancies picking up that pen?

You can follow Mark on twitter @Mark_Jones86.