Rodgers targets psychological boost
Brendan Rodgers insists Sunday's meeting with Manchester United will not be decisive in the top-four race but admits a Liverpool victory would be a psychological boost for his team.
The Northern Irishman will pit his tactical wits against Louis van Gaal at Anfield knowing that three points for the Reds would lift them above their rivals in the congested table.
It's an altogether different scenario to the one on the day the sides last met, back in December, when United claimed a 3-0 win at Old Trafford that didn't tell the full story.
Liverpool's new 3-4-3 system was effective in many areas that afternoon and has provided a platform for Rodgers' charges to go unbeaten in the Barclays Premier League ever since.
"It's an important game," the manager commented today. "These games in particular are always great spectacles and obviously the rivalry is historic.
"It's a game at Anfield against a big rival and we want to win the game.
"I don't think the result will be an overriding factor because there are still a number of games to go, but certainly psychologically it can give you a great boost."
He continued: "We've got really good momentum. We have shown over the last three months the qualities we clearly have in the team, that perseverance and character in the side and ultimately the quality that we have.
"But we've had to work very hard - it's not something that we have just clicked our fingers for.
"We have had to analyse and work hard on the training field and the players then take that into the game.
"They deserve a huge amount of credit for the resilience and focus they have shown over the last three months, when we didn't have a good start.
"We arrive into the game knowing it will be a difficult game for us. Manchester United are coming off the back of a good performance.
"But when we play at Anfield in particular, we are very confident and we'll look to take that confidence that we have shown in the last three months into this game and hopefully continue with that momentum."