Saha - a summer signing from Manchester United - was one of the few bright spots for the Toffees as they lost 1-0 at Blackburn Rovers on Wednesday night.

The injury-prone striker came safely through the 90 minutes and looked lively. Now he can't wait for Saturday's big showdown with the Reds.

"It was a very disappointing night," he said.

"The only positive we can take from the game is a reaction to put it right. We are determined to do that, as we know we did not play well against Blackburn.

good signs

"Credit to Blackburn. They had a game plan and they stuck to it. It wasn't as if we were playing at home against a team that we should have beaten, but we still feel that we should have done much better.

"I know we are a hard working team and when we are faced with games like this (against Liverpool) we usually take the opportunity to show that. It was a difficult night but we still have new players adapting to things here. It has been a bit of a rush.

"We wanted to have some more games to get to know to each other but we have been denied that now by losing to Blackburn. We thought this was a good opportunity to win a trophy, so it is all the more disappointing to have gone out so soon."

Saha added: "It was nice to get 90 minutes under my belt. I still need some time to adapt but I am quite happy with my fitness.

"There were good signs between myself and Yak, but again it is going to take time."