Rodgers: We always retain our optimism
The in-built mental strength of the Liverpool squad gives Brendan Rodgers confidence that his team can repeat their feats of the past by bouncing back from Barclays Premier League disappointment at West Ham United.
Last Saturday, the Reds entered a home fixture with Aston Villa as strong favourites to follow up a hugely impressive 3-0 dissection of Tottenham Hotspur two weeks previously with another win and three points.
But Paul Lambert's charges went way off script, taking the victory themselves courtesy of an early deadlock-breaker by Gabriel Agbonlahor and a resolute defensive performance that stymied the attacking flourishes of the hosts.
Redemption was achieved to a degree on Tuesday evening, when Rodgers' charges marked their long-awaited return to Champions League football with a hard-fought and dramatic defeat of Ludogorets Razgrad at Anfield.
Rodgers is still seeking a Premier League response, however, and can take his side to Upton Park on Saturday knowing that Liverpool have only ever lost consecutive matches in the division on one occasion under his stewardship.
"It's the nature of the group - it has got great mentality, good character and those mental qualities that you certainly need," the boss explained to Liverpoolfc.com at Melwood ahead of the teatime encounter.
"We always go into it with an optimistic look. Anyone can lose a game of football; you could have played really well but lost, or played really poorly and won. I always look to remain optimistic in our approach to the game.
"We bounced back from the defeat and had an important game in the Champions League - we were the only English team that won in week one of the Champions League, so that was a good result for us and gives us confidence moving into the next league game, which is equally important.
"They'll be keen to try to get their first win at home. We had a good result there last year but had to work very hard for the victory.
"In my two seasons that we have gone there, we have won but had to work very hard for it and we expect the same. It will be a tough game, it's a tough place to go and win.
"They had a good performance during the week, they have got some new players that came in during the window, and obviously they'll look to perform well. But the focus is looking at ourselves and trying to ensure that we can do the job."
Having racked up a remarkable 101 goals in the Premier League last season, few teams will take on the challenge of facing Liverpool without a well-drilled plan to attempt to thwart the endeavours of Rodgers' forwards.
That has certainly been true in two domestic fixtures on Merseyside already in the new campaign, with Southampton proving a tough obstacle to overcome on the opening weekend before Villa silenced Kopites.
The Northern Irishman reflected: "After last season's performances, teams will now come and make it difficult at home. But we have to find the solutions for that.
"We have to find different ways to penetrate and score because if the game is opened up, teams might think that we can score many goals. But home or away you have to find a way to win and at times they may be different - and that's something that we'll be prepared for."
Asked if away matches such as this weekend's present an opportunity for greater freedom, he added: "Certainly the onus is on the home team to come out and open up, and of course that then gives us more space to attack."
Sam Allardyce can field a new-look Hammers attack this season, including dangerous summer signing Enner Valencia, who shone at the World Cup in Brazil earlier this year and struck at Hull City on Monday night.
As always, though, the Reds will be fully briefed by the scouting and analysis department that aid Rodgers' work at Melwood - meaning the manager is already attuned to the opposition threats awaiting his players.
"In modern football, there aren't too many players that you aren't aware of or don't know," he assessed. "We saw [Valencia] in the World Cup and he scored a great goal the other night as well.
"Obviously a lot of the players are the same. They played with a different shape, which was interesting; they played with a 4-4-2 diamond and I thought Stewart Downing was arguably their best player on the evening.
"We know it will be a hard game for us, we respect them and their qualities, and their support at home is normally strong.
"But you like these types of games because it gives you the chance to show your capabilities as a team. Away from home, our record in the last season or so has been up there with the best teams in the league."