'I want to see how Le Classique compares'
Mamadou Sakho has sampled the passion of Le Classique, the bitter battle between Paris Saint-Germain and Olympique Marseille – and now he wants to feel the fervour of the Merseyside derby.
During a six-year spell with his boyhood club, the centre-back from France's capital city turned out for PSG on six occasions as they locked horns with their fierce rivals from the south.
Since making the switch to Liverpool in the summer of 2013, Sakho has missed out on two opportunities to be involved against the Reds' rivals Everton.
The 23-year-old was an unused substitute for the epic 3-3 draw at Goodison Park in October last year, while injury deprived him of a role in January's dazzling 4-0 demolition of the Blues at Anfield.
Ahead of this weekend's clash, Sakho told Liverpoolfc.com: "Derbies are great matches to play in because they're obviously much more exciting, and I'm really keen to play because they're not like any other sorts of matches.
"I was unfortunately injured in the second derby of last season, but to watch it was incredibly exciting. The fans at that type of match are really bubbling with excitement and energy, and the atmosphere is always really different to other matches throughout the season.
"Le Classique is really all about the pride of the player and the supporters. It's all about competition of the cities. The atmosphere's always completely different - people are bubbling with energy, pride and hunger to win the match.
"Both [Le Classique and the Merseyside derby] have the same importance, the same atmosphere. The only difference is that the stadiums are obviously a lot further apart in France than in Liverpool with Anfield and Goodison Park."
Sakho was called upon to demonstrate his composure from the penalty spot as Anfield witnessed an astonishing, nail-biting penalty shootout against Middlesbrough on Tuesday night.
The No.17 was clinical, driving the 15th penalty of the duel into the Kop net before rejoining his teammates on the halfway line to watch the drama continue to unfold deep into sudden death.
When Albert Adomah blazed his strike - the 30th of the shootout - wide of Simon Mignolet's goal, Liverpool secured a dramatic victory - one which Sakho believes will bring priceless momentum ahead of Saturday's clash with Everton.
"The win can help [the team's morale]," he said. "It was a difficult match, but a result like that can only help us move forward and give us a lot of confidence.
"It's going to help us grow as a team to have experiences like that and play matches as difficult as that. But thank you to the supporters - they helped us along a lot, and it was a great result to end the night with.
"[Everton] is a big game that we need to win and it's obviously not like other matches. It's the derby and it's going to be a different atmosphere, but we'll do everything we can to win. We'll go out there from the start just aiming to get those three points."
Sakho has learned quickly that on derby day football consumes the city of Liverpool, with families divided and one topic taking precedence over all others. However, the Frenchman has also being getting used to life outside the footballing spotlight.
"I really like Liverpool," said the defender. "It's very different to Paris in a lot of ways. But the people are great - they're very welcoming and warm.
"I like to get out and about with my wife, doing different things here in Liverpool - like going to the port and the harbour - and getting to know it a bit more. It's a nice place to live."