McManaman urges Liverpool to 'stay cool' amid Everton intensity after four red cards in eight games

Liverpool hero Steve McManaman says the players must keep "cool heads" today against Everton.

Alexis Mac Allister, Virgil van Dijk, Curtis Jones and Diogo Jota have seen red this season for Liverpool in eight games.

McManaman told the Liverpool Echo: "You have to keep a cool head and sometimes you can't.

"I played in the game when Robbie Fowler and David Unsworth got sent off and it was ridiculous. But it was one of those games where you knew something could happen. Going back to that stupid thing I had with Bruce Grobbelaar (on-field clash in 1993), the fact that that happened in a derby and not any other game, the derby matches meant a lot.

"I don't know if they mean as much now because there are more foreign players in the league, which is no bad thing, but I am not sure if it means as much or less now as a result. Back in the 90s, Liverpool had a team from the British isles, so did Everton, full of Welsh, Irish and Scottish players. So the derby is still massive and you can imagine some players are saying to others: 'Look, this means a lot, don't do anything stupid or anything to spoil it'. It's about enjoying it, it's amazing but you can't do anything stupid and I think that goes for both teams."

McManaman adds: "Fifteen or 20 years ago, if one team was dominant you'd still say forget about it, anything can still go. I am not sure that's the case now. If one team is top and the other is bottom, I think it goes to favour.

"Maybe if it was at Goodison, it's different but Liverpool have found games at Anfield recently far easier and that's maybe because they have an Egyptian up front with a Uruguayan and a Colombian or a Portuguese. And they are not caught into the passion and the furore of having friends and family who are Liverpool fans.

"For Darwin Nunez it will mean less than it does to Trent or Curtis, for example. You still need the passion but you have to have ice-cold veins really because that's what it is. Trent against Anthony Gordon a couple of seasons back was a great tussle, you could see it because it meant a lot to both.

"You can't get away from them that it probably meant a little bit more to them than it did some of the other team-mates, which is no bad thing as you just approach it differently. But as we're talking about it, it means a lot to me this game and I can't wait for this one.

"I don't know how the South American lads have come back and recovered so that will play a part and it's great Liverpool are at home but the first game back from the last international break Liverpool played at Wolves and they were disappointing for 45 minutes although they have eventually won the game.

"You cannot start like that in a derby because a disappointing 45 minutes could lose you the game. There are a number of different factors tomorrow with this match because an international week could have led to injuries we don't know about yet other than Andy Robertson missing out.

"If you asked 100 fans who aren't Liverpool or Everton fans I think they would suggest Liverpool will win. They are favourites, they are at home and they expected to win. There are a few reasons why Everton may feel they have an opportunity. Liverpool have four South America players who have done a lot of travelling, Andy Robertson is out injured and Everton will know these factors. It's whether they can use it to their advantage to gain a march.

"Liverpool will dominate possession, it's whether Everton can break and counter-attack and can they stay defensively strong? They can do something on set-pieces to try and upset Liverpool."