Jurgen Klopp believes the derby roles have been reversed with Monday's Anfield showdown offering Liverpool an opportunity to kickstart their spluttering season.
The Reds go into their 243rd meeting with Everton still seeking their first Premier League win of 2023 and rock bottom of the form table since the turn of the year after a miserable 3-0 loss at Wolverhampton Wanderers last weekend.
By contrast, their neighbours ended a run of 10 games without a victory by beating runaway leaders Arsenal 1-0 at Goodison in the first match under new boss Sean Dyche, who replaced the sacked Frank Lampard.
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Should Liverpool not win on Monday, it would be their longest wait for a first league win of a calendar year since they were relegated from the top flight in 1954.
And asked if the latest derby showdown is a chance to arrest his team's recent slide, Klopp said: "It was very often in recent years that Everton could sort a lot of problems just by beating us, when they were not happy with what was happening around, while for us it was not a normal game but another game where we needed desperately three points.
"That didn’t change, to be honest. But I know where you’re coming from (with the question), of course. After the game we played at Wolves, we have to show a reaction again. I know our people want to see that. I want to see that. We have to show that.
"This is not a time we wanted to have or a time we are happy to be in. But I think this is a time where as well we can show, if we want to show, that the club is really special. The boys delivered a lot of great moments in the last few years. In the moment, for different reasons – not all of them are clear – it’s not possible or we didn’t do it. But we are fighting for it, to change the situation in a better direction."
Klopp added: "I really believe the better you behave in your lower moments, the quicker you get in the better moments again and then the much more success you will have in the better moments because you are just still together.
"I thought so far we did really well all together, especially our supporters. And I’m really looking forward to a derby atmosphere, a proper atmosphere and to a proper, proper football game."
Liverpool have been bolstered by the return of several long-term injured players to parts of training this week, although only Diogo Jota is likely to be in contention on Monday having been absent since mid-October.
And having discussed the Wolves defeat at length with his squad before giving them two days off earlier in the week, Klopp has been encouraged by the response of his players.
"Have I seen positive signs in training? Definitely yes, absolutely," he said. "All the signs are there, but when I say that now, I know people will say ‘Yeah, but show it on Monday’. We see it exactly the same: we have to show it on Monday.
"Training was so far really good and will be, everything is in the right direction. That’s true. Aggression is there, determination is there, readiness is there, concentration is there, focus is there, intensity is there. So far, a really good week.
"We know it’s a difficult game, Sean Dyche is now there and obviously a massive impact immediately, it was obvious. We have to prepare that – that’s what we did and will do in the upcoming days."
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