Bragging rights and three precious points are on the line at Anfield on Saturday lunchtime, as Liverpool and Everton do battle in the first Merseyside derby of the season.
Jurgen Klopp's men are out to avoid a third successive winless game in the top flight, having been beaten by Tottenham Hotspur in infuriating circumstances before dropping another two points in a 2-2 stalemate with Brighton & Hove Albion.
Nevertheless, the fourth-placed Reds could rise to the summit of the Premier League table - for a matter of hours at least - should they come up trumps in the first Premier League game back since the international period, where Mohamed Salah returns on the back of two scoreless and assist-less games for Egypt.
The 31-year-old is no stranger to Merseyside derby success, though, and here, Sports Mole takes a closer look at his record against Liverpool's bitter adversaries.
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Salah first encountered Everton in Premier League action during his forgettable period at Chelsea, although he was an unused substitute in a pair of wins during the 2013-14 and 2014-15 seasons before departing for Serie A.
Upon his return to English soil, though, Salah quickly made his presence felt against Everton and scored on his first appearance against the Toffees, breaking the deadlock at Anfield in December 2017 before Wayne Rooney equalised for the visitors.
However, Salah failed to make the cut for the return fixture at Goodison Park due to injury, before drawing a pair of blanks in the 2018-19 season and finding himself on the bench for both derbies in the Reds' title-winning 2019-20 campaign.
The former Chelsea attacker did open his Goodison Park account in October 2020, but Liverpool were pegged back on two occasions in that 2-2 draw, while also losing Virgil van Dijk to his excruciating ACL injury.
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Salah was then unable to prevent Liverpool from slumping to a 2-0 Anfield loss in February 2021, but his Merseyside fortunes have since taken a turn for the better, either scoring or assisting in three of his last four appearances against the Toffees.
The Egyptian netted twice in a 4-1 Goodison Park crushing in December 2021, where his second goal was Liverpool's 500th in the Premier League under Klopp and also saw him become the first Reds player to directly contribute to a goal in seven successive games in the competition.
Salah then provided an inch-perfect cross for Andy Robertson to head home in a 2-0 Anfield success later that season, and while his powers waned in a goalless Goodison draw last September, he got back on track with the first of the night in a 2-0 triumph back in February.
All in all, Salah's record in Merseyside derbies reads a respectable five goals and one assist from nine appearances, while he has won four, drawn four and lost one of those outings - all of which have come in the Premier League.
On the back of scoring or assisting in his first six league appearances of the season, Salah's hot streak was broken in the Reds' loss to Spurs last month, but he reverted to type with a quickfire brace against Brighton and will need no extra motivation to deliver another crushing blow in Saturday's tantalising battle.
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