The Merseyside derby is always among the highlights of the season for Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard, but the midfielder senses an extra level of importance attached to the latest contest.

Everton travel to Anfield on Tuesday evening, trailing their hosts by one point in the Barclays Premier League, with both sides having laid strong foundations for an assault on Champions League qualification.

Brendan Rodgers' team have emerged victorious from nine of their 11 fixtures on home soil in the league this season, and have the carrot of a four-point advantage over the Blues on offer should they win again tonight.

Gerrard will line up against the Reds' neighbours from across Stanley Park for the 31st time in his incredible career - and the adrenaline of clashing with our great rivals has not dimmed in the slightest for the No.8.

"I love winning football matches and I love beating Everton," he said.

"That hasn't changed from day one. Going into these games as a player all you want is to get the result and that will never change.

"The important thing as a player is that you don't get too worked up for these games and let emotion beat you on the day by getting carried away and getting a stupid red.

"You can build yourself up so much that it is too hard to perform, you put too much pressure on yourself.

"That's the message for our young lads going into the derby - it doesn't do you any good to get too fired up. You have to control your emotions.

"At the end of the day, it is an important Premier League game with three points at stake. You've got to park the rivalry when it starts and concentrate on winning the game.

"People are talking about it being a 'six-pointer' but for me it's bigger than that in a way because if either side wins this game it's a huge springboard for the rest of the season as far as confidence and belief is concerned.

"You don't need to build these derbies up, but when you're so close in the league they're even bigger. It adds an extra edge to the game for sure.

"I think Everton have surprised everyone how quickly they've taken to Roberto Martinez's way of playing. It's interesting because both managers' philosophies are very similar. I think that's why it was such an attacking, exciting game at Goodison.

"That could happen again but because there's so much at stake and these points are so valuable, don't be surprised if it's a cagey, really close encounter.

"This run to try to finish in the top four is so big for this club. To have Everton breathing down your neck makes it even more challenging because of the rivalry.

"We're happy with how the season has gone so far but everyone knows it can change very quickly.

"I've sat and spoken many times before when we've been nowhere near a top-four race in December and January, so this is the tension and pressure you want to be under. If you don't like and revel in this pressure and tension, you're at the wrong football club."

Rodgers has fielded his skipper in a different role during recent weeks, asking the 33-year-old to dictate and control proceedings from a deeper position than you would normally expect.

It is a challenge Gerrard welcomes with excitement and the England international is determined to prolong the remaining years of his career by blossoming with his altered duties.

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He reflected: "I knew there would be a time in my career when I'd need to adapt my role and drop a bit deeper.

"I knew when that time came other people would be talking about it more than myself. Brendan has spoken to me about the role an awful lot recently, and about the adaptation, and that's what everyone will see moving forward.

"It's more about people understanding that I'm not going to be the Steven Gerrard I've been for the last 15 years and going from goalline to goalline at every opportunity.

"It's going to be more of a controlled performance and a role that can help the team win games, rather than trying to rescue games on my own.

"I do have to get my head around it too, but with Brendan on the training ground every day and speaking to him on a regular basis I think I can make the adaptation really quickly.

"It's not as though I'm being asked to do something that I've never done before. It is something I have done in the past for England and Liverpool.

"I think a really top performance from me in the next couple of games will make people realise why we are doing this and that maybe it is the right time.

"When the manager first arrived he said he still saw me as an attacking midfielder and further down the line there was a role that would suit me in his system that I would be able to play really well and I'd still be able to contribute until around my mid-30s. That's what we are trying to do now.

"It suits me perfectly. I want to play for this club for as long as I can, so to have a manager who still believes in me and wants me around for years to come is a great confidence boost."