Lucas targets 2007 derby repeat
If you offered Lucas Leiva a repeat of his first-ever Merseyside derby when the Reds cross Stanley Park again on Saturday, the Brazilian midfielder would be thoroughly satisfied.
The then little-known No.21 was given his initial taste of Barclays Premier League football when introduced as a substitute for Steven Gerrard at Goodison Park in October 2007.
Lucas made a significant contribution to the Reds' eventual 2-1 triumph that day, winning a penalty for the travellers which was dispatched expertly by Dirk Kuyt in the last minute.
"It's a good memory for me and we hope we can do the same," the 26-year-old told Liverpoolfc.com ahead of our latest encounter with Everton.
"I was very happy to play - it was my Premier League debut. I made an impact on the game, playing 15 to 20 minutes.
"It's something that I always remember, especially the two goals by Dirk that sealed the victory.
"It's going to be a special game, as always. We have enough time to recover well from the international games and travel.
"I'm looking forward to another great game and keeping our good momentum; our win before the international break against Fulham was a good game.
"We hope we keep going and keep getting points, because we know these games could make the difference at the end of the season."
Liverpool enter the 221st Merseyside derby in second place in the Premier League, while their city rivals have also enjoyed a positive opening to the campaign and currently sit in sixth.
The Blues have a new manager, Roberto Martinez, at the helm and added a number of new faces during the transfer window - leading Lucas to expect an interesting match-up.
"They have changed a few players in the starting line-up. We will probably see slightly different personnel than we used to play against," he added.
"It's going to be difficult - Everton are always a tough team to play and being a derby, it becomes even harder.
"They have started really well. It's going to be an interesting game for us. We just hope we can win the game because then we'll be able to be close to the top again.
"We have a lot of players that have enough experience to deal with these kinds of games. We have to approach the game the same way we do every single week.
"We have to know how much this means to the club and the fans. It's always special motivation because we always want to win the derby, and we hope we can do it on Saturday."