The Toffees travel to Anfield for the Merseyside derby in the Premier League on Wednesday (02.04.25) and the coach says that the club has lots of work to do if they are to bridge the deficit to their rivals.

Moyes, who returned to Everton for a second spell as manager in January, told reporters: "We might be further away from Liverpool than we've ever been at the moment.

"I think by the time we [Moyes and his staff] left here 12 years ago, I think we were much closer to Liverpool. We were competing in the same areas of the league at the time. I think at the moment it's probably the biggest gulf between the two clubs."

Arne Slot has guided Liverpool to the brink of the title in his debut season in charge and Moyes praised the job he has done with the Reds since taking over from Jurgen Klopp.

The Scottish manager said: "When Jurgen left, I think we were probably all a bit surprised by how well Arne Slot's done. Quite often moving away from the dynasty of a manager can be difficult but I think he's settled in really well. They've not dropped off from where they were."

Moyes was also gushing in his praise of Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah, who leads the Golden Boot race with 27 league goals so far this season.

He said: "He's having an unbelievable season for Liverpool.

"Let's be fair, we're talking about one of the top Premier League players of this generation. It's not just this season; he's been so consistent over most seasons.

"He's scored plenty of goals, plenty of assists, he's very rarely injured. He's been a great player for Liverpool."