Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez begins what he believes is a ''crucial'' period for his side with the 213th Merseyside derby at home to Everton.

GettyImagesDavid Moyes and Rafa Benitez will be locking horns for the 11th time.

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With a midweek visit to Arsenal and then a trip to Manchester City a fortnight on Sunday those results will go a long way to defining their season. However, first up is the visit of Liverpool's neighbours where a win would lift Benitez's side into the top four with current incumbents Tottenham kicking off later in the day, live on ESPN.

''We talk about crucial times and this period is very important,'' said Benitez. ''I've spoken with the players and we have been analysing what we have (in terms of games) until the end of the season and this is the most crucial phase.

''We are close to the top four and we cannot make too many mistakes and we play against three teams that are around us. It is important to keep winning games to maintain the momentum and it would be fantastic to win all three but you have to start with the first one. We want to make sure we get back into the top four and this is the first opportunity to try and do that.''

The two teams are probably more equally matched than at any time this season with Liverpool unbeaten in six league games - having conceded just once - and Everton having not lost in nine. However, Benitez does not believe current form will have much of an impact.

''Both Everton and us and are on a good run so both will come into the game with confidence,'' he said. ''But in the past sometimes we were not in a good moment and won and sometimes we were in a good moment and lost. A derby is a derby and is different to any other game so form is not the most important thing now.''

Meanwhile, Liverpool vice-captain Jamie Carragher admits the fear of losing remains his overriding emotion when he comes up against his local rivals.

''My feelings haven't changed one bit. There is always that little bit of extra anxiety, which comes from the fear of losing,'' he said. ''You talk about results being more important than performances but, ideally, you want to put the two together. But when you think over the last decade we've probably had our best ever run of results against Everton.

''Normally in the past whenever Everton have beaten Liverpool, the accusation was that they wanted it a little bit more. So I'm glad in the last decade we have turned that around and hopefully we'll be able to keep the run going into the next decade. The important thing is that you could never accuse us of lacking desire in these games.''

Liverpool have already beaten Manchester United at home this season and have won their last four matches at Anfield. But the visit of Everton is the one Carragher always targets and with the race for the top four so tight this season he knows a good result is imperative.

''For me the derby is always the biggest game of the season and this is no different,'' he told the Liverpool Echo. ''We've just got to make sure that we get three points and then we can start thinking about the games that follow on, as the race for the top four is getting pretty tight now.

''It changes from week to week and with teams around us dropping points, we've got to make sure we are in a position to take advantage. But we can't look too far ahead as we have got a big enough game of our own to deal with.''