Liverpool has plenty riding on its final trip to Goodison Park. The Reds certainly won’t want a repeat of their last journey across Stanley Park.

Arne Slot will get his first taste of the Merseyside derby two months later than originally planned, and the Liverpool boss will have to be prepared for a unique occasion. Facing Everton is rarely like any other game for the Reds, and with the Toffees bidding farewell to their historic ground this season, the temperature will almost certainly be cranked up this evening.

Liverpool has had a decent record in recent years at Goodison, although last year’s visit was the stuff of nightmares for outgoing boss Jurgen Klopp. He saw his side crumble to a 2-0 defeat that all but ended their hopes of winning the Premier League title, putting a major dampener on the end of a remarkable tenure at Anfield.

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The defeat led to some serious questions of his side - and not just from the outside. Captain Virgil van Dijk didn’t pull any punches as he summed up a terrible night for the Reds.

“Everyone has to look in the mirror and look at their own performances and ask if they really gave everything and do they really want to win the league?” said Van Dijk. “We still have games after tonight but I think if we play like we did today, not winning challenges and giving the ref the opportunity to give free-kicks like we did many times, then we have no chance to win the title.”

Bar a few summer departures and the sole addition of Federico Chiesa, it will be the same Liverpool side that rocks up at Goodison for the final time tonight, with Van Dijk set to find out whether his teammates took his criticism on board.

With the chance to create real daylight between themselves and Arsenal in the Premier League title race, this is an opportunity for Liverpool’s players to show they’ve taken last season’s lesson on board, and are now ready to be crowned champions.

“For me, it is the ultimate test of Arne Slot’s new “calmer Liverpool”. They have dealt with many challenges this season, but an evening game at Goodison Park is something else,” Jamie Carragher wrote in his column for The Telegraph.

Although Slot may have played down the significance a win tonight would have, we could be about to find out whether Liverpool has what it takes to go all the way this season. Win at Goodison one final time, and Van Dijk will have the answer to his question - this side wants to win the league.