Now no stranger to the hectic nature of the festive fixture schedule in England, Philippe Coutinho admits he is relishing the run of Liverpool games that begins with Watford this afternoon.

The Brazilian is preparing for his third Christmas with the club and the demands that come with this time of year – namely four crucial Barclays Premier League matches between today and January 2.

And the No.10 insists he has not only fully adapted to the experience since he arrived at Anfield, but actively looks forward to the quickfire opportunity to make significant progress up the table.

“The first year was something quite different for me – sometimes over the festive period it’s very intense,” Coutinho told Liverpoolfc.com.

“But now I’m used to it, I actually like it when we reach this point, all the family’s here, there are big games one after another, so I’m accustomed to it and I like it.

“Our goal is to be up there battling, so we have to fight to win all points against all teams. Liverpool is a great club, so we need to go into games intending to win.”

The Premier League season has so far confounded all expectations and predictions, with Leicester City – who are set to visit Anfield next on Boxing Day – deservedly topping the table.

For their part, Watford have excelled too, claiming wins in each of their last three contests to climb to seventh in the division with an approach founded on defensive solidity.

“They’ll be two great games and extremely important to us because we know we need the points, and it’s a battle with the team at the top [against Leicester], so it’ll be a very important game,” said Coutinho.

“We have had a full week to train before the [Watford] game, because we didn’t have a midweek match, and I think it’ll be good for us to have everyone there together, united and strong, and I hope we can win both games.”

Stopping the incredible momentum of these sides is the task for Jürgen Klopp’s Reds if they are to catch and leapfrog them during the second half of the campaign.

Coutinho added: “I’m not at all surprised, because the Premier League is the most difficult league in the world and all the teams are of a high standard.

“So it comes as no surprise that all the teams are there battling for a top-four place, and we’re there in the mix, and we hope we can achieve our goal of being among the top four.”