Klopp’s side have stuttered recently. Liverpool’s best XI are superb but the drop-off beyond the first team is steep. The injury to Alisson Becker, the goalkeeper, has a huge impact on the defence. Adrian, his replacement, does not command the same confidence. Ancelotti will instruct his players to shoot from distance and loft balls into the box to disconcert the reserve goalkeeper. The Spaniard – perhaps unfairly – carried most the blame for Liverpool’s 3-2 defeat by Atletico Madrid and subsequent exit from the Champions League this week.

Ancelotti will have enjoyed Atletico’s performance for another reason. The La Liga side disrupted Liverpool’s rhythm and tactics by deploying a 4-4-2 formation, the Everton manager’s favoured system. Virgil van Dijk is at his least imperious when confronted with two strikers. As good as he is, the Dutchman cannot do the job of two men and his centre-back partners have suffered from a dip in form and injuries. The base of Liverpool’s spine has been one of the team’s biggest strengths. This is a rare chance for Ancelotti to attack this area while it is in a weakened state.

Liverpool’s imperious progression in the league in the first seven months of the season could never be sustained. The pace and relentlessness of the top flight means that it is almost impossible for players to maintain elevated levels of performance for the entire campaign. Trent Alexander-Arnold has lost a little of his edge, injuries have rendered Fabinho a little sluggish and Roberto Firmino and Sadio Mane have not been quite as sharp.

These dips would be barely noticeable in isolation but when three or four of the team are a little off their game, the impact is magnified. Everton will have to raise their game significantly to get any joy out of even a subdued Liverpool. Ancelotti was fuming after his side’s 4-0 thrashing by Chelsea and not only will Everton require better execution on the ball to test Klopp’s men, they need to work significantly harder off the ball. Atletico provided a template, though, and the 60-year-old is a clever coach.

The Italian has history with Liverpool too. The worst moment of Ancelotti’s managerial career came 15 years ago in Istanbul, when his Milan side threw away a 3-0 half-time lead in the Champions League final, eventually losing on penalties to Steven Gerrard and co after a 3-3 draw. The “Miracle of Istanbul” became part of Anfield folklore and even though Ancelotti’s Milan gained revenge in the final of European football’s most prestigious competition two years later by beating Rafa Benitez’s team 2-1 in Athens, Liverpool haunt the Everton manager’s nightmares.

The thing that wakes Kopites from sleep in a cold sweat is the potential that the global health crisis will lead to the season being declared void. That is an unlikely scenario but a small minority of other Premier League clubs favour that eventuality. Because of this, Liverpool can afford no slip-ups against Everton. Win at Goodison and they are a mere five days and a victory over Crystal Palace at Anfield from being presented with the Premier League trophy.

Even though bigger issues are hanging over football, the derby will still obsess Merseyside this weekend. The rivalry between the clubs is not geographic. Neither religion nor social standing determine whether an individual will support Everton or Liverpool. Families are often split between red and blue. Homes, workplaces and pubs are awkward places for fans of the losing side in the days following the match.

Yet the teams give people from the city purpose and have seen them through some bad times. Football is not a matter of life or death – Scousers understand Bill Shankly was joking when he quipped that famous but fatuous line – but it is Merseyside’s favourite distraction. By the time the game kicks off, all outside worries will be forgotten.

Goodison will be a cauldron on Monday and all will be well with the world. For 90 minutes, at least.