A RESOUNDING 4-0 derby win over Everton on their last visit to Anfield began a run in which Liverpool took 37 points from a possible 39 that took them close to ending their wait for a league title.
Brendan Rodgers will hope a repeat triumph over their Merseyside rivals this lunchtime can kick-start his team's season after three defeats in their first five matches.
"We go into this game with a great opportunity to get a victory in a derby game which we will hope can provide a platform for us to go on consistently like it did last year," the Liverpool manager said. "We haven't made the best of starts but our game was based on a fast, pressing game and when you introduce a raft of new players and lose the core of those who were important, it becomes a little bit broken.
"At this moment, we're refocusing, reintroducing the principles into our game that have brought us the win ratio we've had in the last 18 months.
Everton haven't won at Anfield in 15 years but need the points just as much as their hosts after winning only once so far. Roberto Martinez's men have had no trouble finding the net but have already conceded 15 times, more than any other team, when last season they had the third-best defensive record in the division.
Martinez admitted: "That's been an area where we've been quite poor and it's something we need to improve. Clearly conceding the amount of goals we've conceded is not something we want to accept. We need to make sure we have more focus, better concentration, better communication and just face that challenge of getting back the standards that we have as a team defensively."
The derby spotlight shifts to north London later in the day when Arsenal host Tottenham. Arsene Wenger believes the visitors will never maximise their potential as a club until they follow in Arsenal's footsteps by developing a new stadium.
Spurs are pushing ahead with proposals to redevelop land around White Hart Lane to accommodate a new 56,250-capacity venue, but legal challenges could lead to a season of ground-sharing rather than them being able to move for the 2017-18 campaign as planned.
Before then, Tottenham may well be the subject of a takeover, although the American investment company Cain Hoy have said they are no longer considering making an offer.
Wenger said: "You cannot be in a business where you turn down 15,000 or 20,000 people every week. If your competitors have more financial power than you, at some stage you have to make a decision."
Wenger indicated he could deploy Mesut Oezil in a central role again, the German having made such an impact in the 3-0 win at Aston Villa
Spurs' Andros Townsend hopes to make his first league start under Mauricio Pochettino. The winger, who had ankle surgery at the end of last season, said: "Of course I want to be involved. I think I'm improving in every game. The manager's formation is new to me but I'm learning."
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