Dejan Lovren sees Manchester City's unbeaten Premier League record as an objective rather than an obstacle for Liverpool this afternoon.

Pep Guardiola brings his team to Anfield on a run of 22 fixtures without defeat in the top flight since the start of the season, which has included 20 victories.

The Reds are on a 17-game streak without losing themselves, however, and head into the showdown having claimed hard-fought victories by the odd goal in three in each of their past three outings.

But Lovren argues that both sides’ statistics can be considered irrelevant and the quality of players, not the quantity of points, can decide the outcome in the hosts’ favour.

“We know what we can expect from the 95 minutes – a lot of intensity in the game. We are ready to fight,” the centre-back told Liverpoolfc.com.

“They have their quality up front but you can never forget we have quality up front. It will be an interesting game, to see who manages to be calmer and keep the ball.

“We believe in our quality and we’ll learn from the last game, when we lost [5-0 at the Etihad Stadium]. We are smarter now.

“There is always pressure, but it’s positive. Records are there to be beaten. We are ready to show them that it’s not easy to come to Anfield. We are also in a good moment and we have a good record – we haven’t lost for 17 games.

“It’s step by step. We know that records aren’t important if you don’t win the next game. It’s as easy as that.

“We know what we can expect and we know what we can achieve. The most important thing is to believe in ourselves; we have big support from the fans, the manager and the staff. It’s on us.”

Jürgen Klopp has options to choose from in central defence following the New Year’s Day arrival of Virgil van Dijk, allied to the fitness of Ragnar Klavan, Lovren and Joel Matip.

The Dutchman experienced a dream debut as he netted the winner against Everton in the FA Cup – and further bolsters a backline that has conceded more than once in a game on only two occasions in the past 12 weeks.

“It’s always great to have quality players around you and next to you,” said Lovren.

“It’s a great challenge for us to keep working much harder. Football is about challenging players to be better. He is our new teammate and everyone is happy that he is with us here.

“The most important thing is the team. We concentrate on the team, not about who will now play or not. There are so many games in the season and in some moments there will maybe be just one or two defenders ready. It’s better to have more than less.”