Liverpool manager Kenny Dalglish believes the Merseyside derby could be just what his side need to shake themselves from their current run.
Defeat at Sunderland at the weekend was the first time since 2003 the Reds had lost three successive league matches.
Performances have varied wildly from the dominant display against Arsenal on their last appearance at Anfield to the disappointing show at the Stadium of Light.
But Dalglish knows there is nothing like a derby, with the added atmosphere of being played under floodlights, to give people the necessary lift.
"It is a massive game, like any derby is for any club involved in one," said the Scot.
"We know how much enjoyment the people get out of winning the game but the players get a lot out of enjoyment out of it also.
"The winners get to enjoy it. You get the bragging rights for the city but both clubs come straight out of that into two FA Cup quarter-final ties so you don't get much time to rest on your laurels - and you wouldn't want to either."
Recent results have virtually ended Liverpool's chances of qualifying for next season's Champions League but now, of more concern, is the pressure coming from below.
Defeat to Everton would see their near-neighbours overtake them and after their poor start to the campaign that would be seen as a major achievement across the other side of Stanley Park.
Dalglish accepts their current run is not acceptable at a club of Liverpool's stature, although he maintains with more good fortune things would have been better.
"It depends what teams you're playing but certainly it's not a record you expect from Liverpool," added the Reds boss, who has never lost successive league matches at Anfield in either of his spells in charge.
"We don't want to get into the habit of losing games but in between the (three) losses we've had a Carling Cup victory.
"I think in both our last defeats we deserved more than what we got.
"They were different performances but we were playing different teams in different conditions.
"We more than matched Sunderland's attributes and had 56% possession and they had maybe three shots on target and one (goal) out of three isn't bad - it is better than what we have done.
"The performances are all well and good and very important and if you continue to play well you are going to continue to win games but you always need a bit of luck."
Everton make the short trip to Anfield looking for their first league win there since 1999 but Dalglish does not think either side will need additional motivation.
And he expects only a fully-committed affair on the pitch despite 20 players being sent off in the past 39 league meetings with 11 coming in the past 14 games.
"The derbies are perhaps more frantic and hectic but they will still be competitive," he said.
"It will always be competitive but it is not malicious - and if it is not competitive you have a problem.
"You cannot take away the competitive spirit of a derby match. If you do that you may as well close the doors and not let anyone in.
"It is a great game to play in, there is a fantastic atmosphere, and the city should be very proud it has two fantastic clubs.
"Overall I think both the clubs have done more good than harm for the city."
Everton boss David Moyes feels the respective form of his side and Liverpool will count for little.
The Toffees go into the game unbeaten in nine matches in all competitions, a sequence which has included Barclays Premier League wins over Tottenham, Chelsea and Manchester City.
On paper, the chances of them adding the scalp of their local rivals look good, with the Reds having won only once in eight league fixtures and losing their last three.
Moyes is not reading too much into those statistics, though, saying: "A lot of the years I have gone into the game and Liverpool have been the form team, and folk have said: 'Who knows in derbies'.
"You never do know."
Moyes celebrates 10 years in charge of Everton on Wednesday and a derby win - which would see his team leapfrog Liverpool into seventh place in the table - would be the perfect way to mark the occasion.
Victory at Anfield in something the Scot is yet to achieve in his tenure, though, with the Toffees' last triumph there coming in 1999.
Asked if he would be happy simply not to lose the game, Moyes said: "Over the years, I think it would have been a great result for any team to go and do that, because Anfield has been a hard place to go.
"Liverpool have got really good support and a good team. It has never changed.
"We will go to Anfield and try to win, and then if you can't do that, the next thing you want to do is try to get a draw."
Regardless of the result on Tuesday, Moyes says he will still have "a good feeling" on Wednesday as he looks back over his decade at Goodison Park and forward to the continuing work that lies ahead.
"I certainly would (be happy on Wednesday if his team had won), but whatever happens, I'll still wake up with a good feeling because I have done 10 years at a great club like Everton," he added.
"I feel really privileged and still excited about the job I have got here."
Moyes only major complaint at the moment is the timing of the contest, which was rearranged due to Liverpool's participation in the Carling Cup final but now comes just days before both Everton and the Reds play in the FA Cup quarter-finals this weekend.
"I think the cup for both teams is a little bit of a distraction," Moyes said.
"I don't think anybody would ideally want a game in the week leading up to it and probably more so, I don't think anyone would really want a derby leading up to it.
"That would be the disappointing thing - what the Premier League have done in putting this game in this spot."
Everton have on-loan winger Steven Pienaar back available for Tuesday night's game after he was ineligible for the 1-0 win over his parent club Spurs on Saturday.
