While it may not be the first time Liverpool have faced Everton at Goodison Park in the Premier League, it will be the first time they face the Toffees with Rafa Benitez in the dugout against his old club.

The two Merseyside clubs head into this match with completely different runs of form, with Liverpool having won their three previous games across all competitions having scored ten goals and none conceded.

Everton, on the other hand, haven't managed to win any of their seven previous league games and have only managed to score four goals in that time with none in their last three.

On the chalkboard

In terms of which players Jurgen Klopp could pick to be in Liverpool's starting XI to take on Everton after convincingly beating Southampton at Anfield, one figure that featured in that win against the Saints that must be in from the start tonight is Fabinho.

The Brazilian played a big part in Liverpool coming away from their game against the south coast side with a clean sheet having blocked two shots, made three tackles, three clearances and one interception.

This performance earned Fabinho a solid overall match rating of 7.1/10 from SofaScore, higher than Mohamed Salah's rating of 7/10.

Labelled as "outstanding" in the past by Klopp for his defensive performances, the midfield enforcer has what it takes to give Benitez and his attacking players nightmares that their poor form could continue if they don't manage to pick up a positive result.

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Even though goals have been hard to come by for the Toffees in recent weeks, they will undoubtedly see this match as their perfect opportunity to get their season back on track and bring some positivity back around Goodison Park, meaning that the Reds will need to rely on Fabinho's impressive defensive capabilities to make sure that doesn't happen.

This, therefore, could make the Brazilian even more important than fellow midfielder Thiago Alcantara on this occasion, even though the Spaniard has managed to score two goals in his two previous appearances for the Anfield outfit.

Fabinho has started eight of the last nine league outings, this could be one of his most important games of the season. He simply has to be unleashed by Klopp.

In other news: Klopp can save LFC millions by unleashing “different” 17 y/o prodigy, he’s Fabinho 2.0 - opinion