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LIVERPOOL, England — Friday morning, and Goodison Park is quiet. There are no fans milling around the streets outside, spilling out of the Winslow pub, eagerly rushing to their seats. There is no noise, no color, no riot of blue and white. There are only a handful of cars in the parking lot. It is spitting with rain.
A stadium is a home, but that is, in truth, only an occasional role. These are places that blossom only every other weekend, as Goodison will on Sunday when Liverpool arrives for the latest Merseyside Derby.