Having endured a nightmare 2023 on the road, Jurgen Klopp should theoretically be welcoming a home visit from a relegation-threatened side on Monday night.
But when the identity of his next opponents is an Everton team with a new manager and a spring in their step from beating the league leaders last week, the Merseyside derby may in fact hold more jeopardy than opportunity for Liverpool right now.
It would be entirely in-keeping with a miserable campaign for the Reds, particularly since the turn of the year, for the Blues to secure their first win in front of supporters at Anfield for nearly a quarter of a century on Monday evening.
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Carlo Anceloitti's side may have got rid of that statistical monkey on the collective Everton backs when they triumphed 2-0 at Anfield two years ago, but even the most ardent Blue will have struggled to extract a full measurement of joy from that soulless, behind-closed-doors affair during the regrettable 'pandemic season'.
Everton's wretched record on the other side of Stanley Park, unofficially now at least, dates back to September 1999 when Kevin Campbell's winner secured what is now a famous result for the Blues. But with Sean Dyche suddenly in situ and his side marching across Stanley Park with that 1-0 triumph over Arsenal fresh in their minds, there is much trepidation to be found inside the Red half of the city this weekend.
Could Everton be about to send Liverpool really spiralling towards rock bottom? There can't have been many more presentable chances for them to have done so over the last two decades, that is for certain.
But for all the angst that now circles the mood, Klopp and his players simply have to view the 243rd version of this local skirmish as a chance to belatedly start the ascent back up the table. Talk of kick-starts and turned corners have littered the discourse all season for the Reds, but this is the one that really must jolt some life into this flatlining campaign.
The alternative simply won't bear thinking about for Klopp as external talk over his ability to turn things around starts to quietly surface. For the club's part, there is unequivocally no doubt that he is the right man to stop the rot and given the achievements clocked up by the German during his incredible seven seasons on Merseyside, that is understandable.
He insists he is wholly committed to the Liverpool project and the fanbase are unshakable in their own belief that Klopp is the best man for the task at hand. Despite a run that has seen his team take just seven points from the last 18 since the return of the Premier League - in a season where they currently lie 10th - there is no-one more capable of returning the Reds to the levels they have enjoyed in recent years.
At some point, though, that turnaround must begin somewhere and tangible signs of improvement need to be seen. While the long-term approach to that might involve a ruthless streak and some significant investment in the transfer market from those above him, Klopp has to start here and now. The primary and secondary aims of the title or a place in the top four are beyond Liverpool now, but more misery, particularly a pile that could be heaped on by this Everton side, will only see them sink to a new low.
With Fenway Sports Group still assessing the best options available to them with regards to a full or partial sale and Klopp hinting in recent weeks that he is prepared to undertake the Great Liverpool Rebuild head on, there are reasons for optimism at Anfield when the landscape is viewed from the wider lens.
Right now, however, all that matters is the Merseyside derby and the potential it has to reinvigorate an entire football club.
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