Everton were founded in 1878 and Liverpool were founded in 1892.
Between the two teams, they have won 28 league titles.
Everton have been in the top division for 118 of their 122 seasons, a record, and Liverpool for 107 of their 118 seasons.
Their grounds are less than a mile apart too, which leaves us with the question.
Have Liverpool and Everton ever played at home on the same day?
Let’s find out…
Have Liverpool And Everton Ever Played At Home On The Same Day?
Yes they have, it happened fairly regularly in the FA Cup in the 1970s but has not happened since 1981 following police requests. The last time both teams played at home in the League on the same day was 1894!
The Last Time It Ever Happened…
DATE: 3 January 1981
The last time the two Merseyside giants played home games on the same day was way back at the start of the 1980s when they both took part in FA Cup 3rd Round ties.
Everton beat Arsenal 2-0 at Goodison in front of 34,000 fans, whilst across Stanley Park Liverpool defeated non-league Altrincham 4-1 at Anfield.
After that, when the two teams were drawn together at home in the FA Cup, the Police asked that the matches be played on different days.
During the 1960s and 1970s, the two clubs had both played home FA Cup games on the same day a number of times.
Whilst Everton v Arsenal was and, still is, a regular fixture, that FA Cup Third Round tie marks the only time Liverpool and Altrincham have played each other.
At the time Altrincham were a particularly strong non-league team and were vying for election to the football league.
In fact the previous season the club had won the Alliance Premier League and missed out on election to the football league by one vote, receiving 25 votes to Rochdale’s 26.
What made this particularly galling is that the club had been promised the votes of Grimsby Town and Luton Town.
However the Grimsby representative couldn’t register their vote as they were in the wrong part of the meeting room and the Luton representative arrived late and missed the vote!
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That year Altrincham beat Burscough 2-1 in the First Round and Scunthorpe in a Second Round replay to set up the meeting with Liverpool.
They were far from disgraced, losing 4-1 to the League Champions, who went on to win both the FA Cup and European Cup that year.
Strangely former Liverpool manager Bill Shankly traveled on the coach to the game with Altrincham. He had an ambassadorial role with Robinsons’ Barley Water and nominated the Man of the Match in the game.
According to Altrincham winger Graham Heathcote, who scored a penalty that day, he sat at the front of the coach and then joined the team in the dressing room before the game.
Six years previously, Altrincham actually played across Stanley Park at Goodison, taking on Everton in a 1975 Third Round FA Cup game.
Everton actually went 1-0 down, and then down to 10 men, but came back to draw 1-1 and win the replay 3-0.
Altrincham’s FA Cup pedigree was enhanced in 1986, when they beat top-flight Birmingham City 1-0 at St Andrews, making them only the second non-league team ever at that time to beat a top-flight opponent on their own ground.
The Last Time It Happened in a League Game…
DATE: 24 March 1894
For the last time Everton and Liverpool both played home league games on the same day you have to go way back to the 1800s.
On Saturday 24 March 1894 Everton hosted Wolves in the First Division, whilst newly crowned Second Division champions Liverpool were at home to Crewe.
Both teams triumphed. Liverpool won 2-0 in a season that saw them win all 14 of their home games, scoring 46 goals and conceding just six, whilst Everton won 3-0.
Unfortunately the attendance at the Liverpool game was severely impacted by the opening of a new stand that day at Goodison Park.
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The opening of the new stand was in preparation for Goodison Park being announced as the host of that year’s FA Cup.
This made Goodison the first Football League ground to be chosen for such an honour, all but three of the previous 22 Cup Finals had been held at the Kennington Oval.
Such was the attraction of the new stand that 16,000 fans flocked to Goodison, leaving the attendance at Anfield down at a paltry 3,000, their smallest gate of the season.
Other Times Everton and Liverpool Have Played at Home on the Same Day
As mentioned in the 1970s, Everton and Liverpool would often play FA Cup games at home on the same day. For instance:
22 Jan 1966: FA Cup Third Round
Liverpool v Chelsea
Everton v Sunderland
6 March 1971: FA Cup Quarter-Final
Liverpool v Spurs
Everton v Colchester
3 Feb 1973: FA Cup Fourth Round
Liverpool v Man City
Everton v Millwall
8 Jan 1977: FA Cup Third Round
Liverpool v Crystal Palace
Everton v Stoke
19 Mar 1977: FA Cup Quarter Round
Liverpool v Middlesbrough
Everton v Derby
16 Feb 1980: FA Cup Fifth Round
Liverpool v Bury
Everton v Wrexham
Unfortunately, as hooliganism began to rear its ugly head these matches did bring some trouble. In particular the Everton v Millwall game in 1973 saw seven Millwall fans being stabbed.
That goes some way to answering the question…
Why Don’t Everton and Liverpool Play Home on the Same Day?
It is due to the fact that a lot of the violence did occur after some of the games listed above.
These are just some of the quotes I found in regards to these matches:
Re the 1971 FA Cup Quarter Final games:
“There was mayhem after the match, unfortunately for the Spurs away following, all the way to Lime Street.”
Re the 1973 FA Cup Fourth Round games:
“I’m sure I remember Millwall and Man City were the visitors to both grounds on the same day, what were they thinking? Feeding the hooligans they were.”
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Re the 1977 FA Cup Quarter Final games:
“Loads of trouble after. I was talking to a lad from Stoke a couple of years ago, he said it was manic, Blues and Reds teaming up together against the Stoke and the Palace fans.”
Re the 1980 FA Cup Fifth Round games:
“Absolute chaos on Priory Road because both Wrexham and Bury brought massive away support with them and there was loads of trouble near the coaches.”
So as you might expect, if Everton and Liverpool were to play at home on the same day there would not be enough officers to deal with any trouble should it arise.
On top of that, it would put a huge strain on the transport system in the city.
Four sets of fans would all be sharing the same public transport routes to two grounds right next to watch other.
Final Thoughts
Yes Everton and Liverpool have played at home together on the same day, but not since 1981 and not since 1894 in the league!
It did happen regularly in the 1970s, as you can see from the infographic above, but it is unlikely that it will happen again, even with Everton moving to a new ground in 2024.
It simply is a combination of both the Police and the transport network not being able to cope with the influx of almost 100,000 fans all at the same time as Liverpool doesn’t have an extensive transport network in comparison to London.
The fixture compilers even try to avoid home games for both teams within a few days of each other if possible.