Arne Slot said Liverpool need to be smarter in their 245th Merseyside derby after playing into Everton’s hands on their last visit to Goodison Park.

Slot prepared for his first derby as Liverpool head coach by analyzing last season’s 2-0 defeat at Goodison, which effectively ended Jurgen Klopp’s hopes of winning the Premier League title. The Dutchman was impressed by the amount of free-kicks Liverpool conceded on the night and insisted there should be no repeat against a Sean Dyche-led team that is dangerous from set-pieces.

“You have to be aggressive when you go there because they will be aggressive too, but you have to be aggressive in an intelligent way,” said Slot, who will be without Alisson again on Saturday. “Last season we were very aggressive there because I watched the game again yesterday. After half an hour I was a bit surprised because Liverpool had the ball most of the time and there were 10 fouls by Liverpool players and only one by an Everton player. So we have to be aggressive but smart, especially because they pose a big threat from set pieces.

“Every time we give away an unnecessary free kick, it’s not smart. Be aggressive but focused and smart. If you want to have a chance of winning, you have to be very aggressive, run a lot and that is also one of your strengths. They are a very hard-working team. So if you want to talk about tactics, you first have to adapt to their work rate and we have shown in all the games this season that we can do that. Everton work really hard and their fans will probably help them work even harder.”

Slot studied last season’s Goodison derby to get a feel for Dyche’s tactics and claimed Liverpool’s performance wasn’t quite as bad as Klopp made it out to be. “The team can play better than they did there, but I always feel like the result is first, second, third, fourth and fifth that comes to mind,” he said. “I know how it works. They (Liverpool) had their chances. The reason I watched this game again was because the same coach is still there and our style of play is largely the same and a lot of players are the same. So maybe we can expect something similar to last season.”

Slot’s first Merseyside derby will be the final league game between Everton and Liverpool at Goodison Park, with the hosts moving to Bramley Moore Docks next season. The 46-year-old said it was a historic occasion. “It will be special for everyone, for all the fans involved, for all the players and managers,” Slot said. “It’s something special to be there and being there at the last event at Goodison Park makes it even more special.” But it’s only a good experience if the result is what you want. That’s what we’re focusing on most in this game.”

Fans have been advised to allow extra travel time and heed weather warnings as winds of 60-70mph are expected on Merseyside. The weather bureau issued an amber strong wind warning at 1am on Saturday, which is expected to remain in place until 6am on Sunday. A further safety assessment will be carried out before kick-off at 12.30pm.