Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers has admitted that his side have not made a great start to the new season, but hopes victory in Saturday's Merseyside derby could be the catalyst for an improved spell of form.

The Reds have picked up just six points from their opening five games of the campaign and have fallen to consecutive league defeats at the hands of Aston Villa and West Ham United.

However, a 4-0 victory over Everton at Anfield last season kick-started a sensational run of form that saw Liverpool pick up 37 of the next 39 points available, and Rodgers is hoping for a similar platform to build off this time around.

"We haven't made the best of starts this season but in the like-for-like games last season, we're only a point different," he told reporters.

"We still have positives from it. We've got young players that have been introduced into our team, which is what we look to achieve to try to help them and educate them to come through and play for the first team.

"We go into this game with a great opportunity to get a victory in a derby game, which we will hope can provide a platform for us to go on consistently, like it did last year."

Liverpool have not lost any of their last eight Merseyside derbies.