Jurgen Klopp will get his first taste of the Merseyside derby when his Liverpool side welcome Everton to Anfield on Wednesday night.
The Toffees will travel across Stanley Park trailing their local rivals by 10 points in the Premier League table, with Liverpool looking to keep themselves in the race for European football.
Liverpool
© Getty ImagesKlopp could not have wished for a better build-up to his first ever Merseyside derby, with Liverpool going into Wednesday's match off the back of a memorable week.
The Reds picked up three wins in the space of seven days last week, stringing together back-to-back league victories either side of their incredible comeback against Borussia Dortmund in the quarter-finals of the Europa League.
While it was the dramatic late 4-3 triumph over Klopp's former employers that will live longest in the memory, the value of their two domestic successes should not be understated either.
Liverpool managed to cruise to a 4-1 victory over Stoke City despite naming a weakened side, while there were 10 changes made ahead of the 2-1 win against Bournemouth on Sunday.
Roberto Firmino and Daniel Sturridge got the goals at Dean Court as Liverpool kept up the chase for European football, with five points still the gap to fifth-placed Manchester United.
The Merseysiders do have a game in hand over United, and indeed every other team in the league, but Europa League qualification looks like the ceiling of their ambition as far as their domestic finish is concerned, with nine points separating them from Arsenal in fourth.
While the final league position may end up disappointing, signs in recent weeks have pointed to a promising future under Klopp, with Liverpool beginning to find a level of consistency that was absent during the German's early days in charge.
The Reds are now unbeaten in their last five games in all competitions and have won five of their last seven in the Premier League, with just one defeat in that time.
At Anfield they have won five of their last six outings in all competitions, with title-chasing Tottenham Hotspur the only visiting team to have avoided defeat in that time and the likes of Manchester City, Manchester United and Dortmund all being beaten.
It is a different story in the league, though, where Liverpool will be looking to win back-to-back home matches for the first time this season despite only falling to three defeats in front of their own fans.
A Europa League semi-final against Villarreal looms on the horizon for the Reds and will surely be their priority over the final weeks of the campaign, but the chance to earn bragging rights over their nearest neighbours - and potentially climb up to sixth in the table - is one that Klopp will not want to miss.
Recent form: WWLDWW
Recent form (all competitions): LDDWWW
Everton
© Getty ImagesLike Liverpool, Everton could be forgiven for having one eye cast beyond this Merseyside derby, with their priorities also lying elsewhere now.
While this fixture is often the standout one of the season for the Toffees, they also have an FA Cup semi-final against Manchester United at the weekend to look forward to.
It is 21 years since the club last lifted the trophy, or indeed any silverware, and it is their best hope of salvaging something from what has been an underwhelming and frustrating campaign.
However, Roberto Martinez cannot afford to look any further than this game, with pressure on the Spaniard growing and banners calling for his resignation becoming a regular occurrence at games now.
Defeat to Liverpool, particularly by a few goals, would certainly not help the mood amongst the Everton faithful, who have seen their side go six league games without a victory - picking up just three points from a possible 18 in that time.
All of those points have come in the last three outings, with Everton having been held by Watford, Crystal Palace and Southampton in succession. The latter of those saw Everton again fail to hang on to a lead, which has been the case in the last three games in which they have opened the scoring.
That has left them still languishing in the bottom half of the table, despite being amongst the league's top scorers and having the best goal difference outside the top seven.
The fact that they have such a talented squad with a youthful core is a large part of the frustration that surrounds Martinez's management of the team, and it could be that the likes of John Stones, Romelu Lukaku and Ross Barkley have their heads turned in the summer should there be no signs of improvement over the closing stages of the campaign.
A win over Liverpool would be a big boost in that regard, and it is away from home where Everton have been most impressive this season, losing just two of their 16 league games on the road.
However, they have also drawn nine of those games and have been forced to share the spoils on a league-high 14 occasions this season, with only the bottom four having won fewer games home and away than the Toffees.
Recent form: LLLDDD
Recent form (all competitions): WLLDDD
Team News
© Getty ImagesKlopp must once again decide between Divock Origi and Sturridge as to who leads his line for this match, with both strikers in fine scoring form of late.
Origi has been struggling with a back injury but is expected to be fit to start, and having been preferred for the Reds' biggest games recently, he may once again oust Sturridge from the starting XI.
Christian Benteke remains on a lengthy injury list for Liverpool that also includes the likes of Martin Skrtel, captain Jordan Henderson and Emre Can.
Having made sweeping changes for the win over Bournemouth, Klopp is expected to return to a side more resemblant of his first-choice XI for this match, which could see returns for the likes of Simon Mignolet, Philippe Coutinho and Mamadou Sakho, amongst others.
Firmino may be one to retain his spot, though, having been directly involved in 12 goals in his last 10 league outings (eight goals, four assists).
Everton, meanwhile, will be without defensive duo Seamus Coleman and Phil Jagielka due to hamstring injuries, while Leighton Baines is also a doubt and faces a late fitness test.
Aaron Lennon and Tom Cleverley will also be examined closer to kickoff to determine whether they are fit to feature, but there should be returns for James McCarthy, Barkley and Lukaku, the latter of whom has scored five goals in his last seven league appearances against Liverpool.
Liverpool possible starting lineup:
Mignolet; Clyne, Lovren, Sakho, Moreno; Milner, Lucas, Lallana; Firmino, Origi, Coutinho
Everton possible starting lineup:
Joel; Connolly, Stones, Funes Mori, Oviedo; Besic, McCarthy, Barkley; Deulofeu, Lukaku, Mirallas
Head To Head
This will be the 275th meeting between these two local rivals, with Liverpool leading the all-time record with 114 wins to Everton's 82 down the years.
Liverpool have not lost any of the last 10 league meetings between the two teams (W3 D7), which is their longest run in the fixture since an 11-match streak between 1979 and 1984. Everton's only win in the 18 most recent league meetings came at Goodison Park in October 2010.
The Toffees have not won at Anfield on any of their last 16 visits (D9 L7) - a run that stretches back to September 1999 when Kevin Campbell scored the only goal of the game.
Six of the last seven league meetings have ended in draws, including the reverse fixture earlier this season when Lukaku cancelled out a Danny Ings opener in what proved to be Brendan Rodgers's final game in charge of Liverpool.
This fixture has seen more red cards than any other in Premier League history (20), although the last eight have passed by without a single sending-off.
We say: Liverpool 2-1 Everton
The mood at the two Merseyside clubs could not be more different right now, with Liverpool fans optimistic of their future under Klopp and Everton fans beginning to lose patience with Martinez. The Reds have the momentum and more of a need for a result at Anfield, and we feel that they will be able to see off the challenge of their closest rivals.
