Liverpool defender Martin Skrtel thinks the Boxing Day battle with Stoke will be more about “the fight and the tackles” than the quality of football, but says his team are ready for a bruising encounter.

Only goal difference separates the sides in the league with both teams on 25 points, ahead of the game at the Britannia Stadium, and Skrtel has called on his team-mates to keep their cool and play to their creative strengths.

“The game against Stoke is not about the football, it is about the fight and the tackles,” the Slovakia international told reporters.

“The fighting in the box at throws, corners and free-kicks was always part of the game but it can be too much.

“What they do is sometimes too much but they are doing well this season, keeping clean sheets.

“We have to deal with it and that is the key for us as defenders, to fight against them and then our creative players can play our game and try to score goals.”

Skrtel says victory for the Reds is crucial as his side look towards the Champions League qualification places after a poor start under new boss Brendan Rodgers.

“It is always difficult to play against [Stoke], especially away from home but we know if we play our game it can be good,” he added.

“We will just try to beat them and get the three points because that is very important for us.

“I hope and believe we can score goals and win there. With three games in a few days that will be key.”

Captain Steven Gerrard also thinks the Stoke game could be important with the table as tight as it currently is, with just seven points separating 12th and fourth place.

“If you can string two or three wins together you can make real progress up the table. Vice versa, if we don’t build on the result against Fulham we could slip back down into mid-table,” he told the Liverpool Echo.

“The games come thick and fast at this time of year and we need to get some momentum over the festive period. [The 3-1 defeat against] Villa was a missed opportunity but we’ve got ourselves back on track against Fulham.

“Stoke, QPR and then Sunderland – on paper these are fixtures we should be getting points from. But it won’t just happen for us. We have to put the hard work in and earn the right.”

Stoke striker Peter Crouch believes that his former employers Liverpool were close to winning the Premier League when he was at the club, but the change of ownership meant key players left.

The 31-year-old faces his former club on Boxing Day with the Potters and admits it was with a heavy heart that he left the club back in 2008 when he departed for Portsmouth after failing to win a place in the first team.

“It was disappointing, I don’t think anyone ever wants to leave a club like Liverpool. It has such a fantastic history and I had some of the best times of my life there,” Crouch told reporters.

“We finished second and won the FA Cup but, at the time, [Fernando] Torres was playing up front on his own and it was difficult for me to stake a claim.

“I had the opportunity to play games at Portsmouth. I was playing for England at the time and I thought if I sat on the bench at Liverpool, it could hinder my international chances.

“Obviously leaving Liverpool was a huge wrench but I look back on also the fact I had so many great memories there.

“It’s very strange. When I was there the side we had was unbelievable, We were a couple of players from winning the league.

“We got to a Champions League final, won the FA Cup and finished second. The next step was to go on and win the league. But I think a change of ownership and different things led to a lot of players leaving for whatever reason.”

Liverpool striker Luis Suarez has praised skipper Steven Gerrard and insists that the England midfielder was one of his heroes prior to his 2011 move to Anfield.

The controversial former Ajax star, who has already notched 11 goals in England’s top flight thus far this season, had words of praise for Gerrard and admits he enjoyed controlling him on the Playstation before joining the 32-year-old on Merseyside almost two years ago.

“It’s hard to find words to describe what a great player Steven has been – and continues to be – for the club,” Suarez told the club’s official website.

“It was only four years ago or so that I was playing on the Playstation and I was always Liverpool and to have him in my team was great. Now I’m playing alongside him – he was a hero.”

Suarez also reiterated his commitment to the Anfield club, who are currently sitting in eighth place in the Premier League table following Saturday’s 4-0 win over Fulham.

“I’m very, very happy here at the club, I couldn’t be happier. Liverpool is a club I’ve always dreamt of playing at. It’s like a dream for me.”