LIVERPOOL MUST BE AGGRESSIVE - KLOPP

Jurgen Klopp has urged his Liverpool players to embrace the importance of Saturday's Merseyside derby.

Liverpool currently sit fourth in the Premier League as they took to secure Champions League football for next season, but Everton are pushing for an unlikely bid for a top-four finish following an impressive run of form since the turn of the year.

A win for Liverpool at Anfield would put them nine points clear of Ronald Koeman's side, with Klopp believing that fact provides further motivation.

"That's another factor. It's clear. We can all read the numbers," he said. "It is opportunity not pressure.

The pressure is always there and we are under pressure because of different things but that is a normal part of life.

"We need to go into a game like this really positive, we need to be really aggressive but this kind of positive aggressive. Not that we want to show that we are ready to make crazy challenges or whatever but we are ready to hurt ourselves."

Liverpool's preparations for the 228th competitive fixture between the two sides has been far from ideal.

Klopp will continue to without captain Jordan Henderson and Daniel Sturridge, while an injury to Adam Lallana sustained on international duty with England could put him out on the sidelines for up to a month.

"We have different options," Klopp added. "We cannot replace Adam but we can find a solution. He is a special player for us but we will have a solution.

"You all know the players. The problem is that we could change the system but then we didn't train it and they played all different systems when playing for their national teams.

"I am not sure it would make a lot of sense but it is still possible. We have the players we need for it and one of them will be in the lineup."

Meanwhile, defender Joel Matip is set to appear in his first Merseyside derby since joining Liverpool in the summer from Schalke.

The task required of the centre-half on Saturday afternoon will be keeping Premier League top scorer Romelu Lukaku quiet.

"He is a brilliant striker and player," Matip told the club's official website. "It'll be a really hard challenge but do it as we always do -- as a team, defending and attacking. I'm hoping it'll work.

"We have seen a lot of games, we will see a few videos, we will do it together. There will be no special talk about Lukaku. We all know his qualities and he is always good for a goal, so we will try our best not to let this happen."