Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers believes that Steven Gerrard can use his inspirational leadership to drive his teammates to victory over Everton in the Merseyside derby for the final time in his career.

The 34-year-old will be playing in his final match against the Toffees as a Liverpool player at Goodison Park, and Rodgers is adamant that the midfielder will produce one of his best displays against his side's bitter rivals mirroring his past performances in the derby game.

Rodgers told reporters: "Steven possesses remarkable quality and attitude, he has always led by example – he has never shirked anything.

"He has always had that winning mentality, and that is what we have in the team now – that real competitive edge. [Mamadou] Sakho and [Martin] Skrtel are warriors, [Emre] Can is physical and strong, [Jordan] Henderson's a warrior, Lucas has been brilliant, Stevie doesn't shirk anything, [Philippe] Coutinho is small but aggressive and so on.

"It's something that doesn't get noticed so much, but we certainly have that and especially away from home you need it, so we'll look to call on that when it's required."

Gerrard has played 32 times against Everton in his career, scoring 10 goals.