The Toffees have not recorded an away Premier League win against Liverpool for 15 years and shipped four goals last time that they made the trip, which the captain recalls sourly

Everton captain Phil Jagielka is desperate to end the club’s winless run away against Liverpool.

The Toffees have not been victorious at Anfield in the Premier League for 15 years, with Roberto Martinez’s men having been routed 4-0 last season.

The last time that Everton claimed bragging rights on their arch-rivals’ turf was in September 1999, when they won a bad-tempered derby 1-0 courtesy of Kevin Campbell’s early goal, and Jagielka is keen to avoid a repeat of January’s crushing defeat.

“Last season, as you can imagine, there wasn’t much said on that journey,” he recalled to the Liverpool Echo.

“You’re talking about a lot of angry people and miserable faces. That’s what you’d expect from any defeat, let alone the heavy defeat we had to our arch-rivals.

“When you are made captain, you want to look at a decent win percentage. You want to see the team score more goals and keep more clean sheets.

“I’ve been desperate to win every time we’ve been to Anfield, we all have been. So then the results we’ve had, and how quiet the bus has been afterwards, is not a nice feeling.

“You can’t change the past but a win is long overdue. It would be a fantastic place for us to give our season another kick-start and get us going up the league.”

While bragging rights are up for grabs, both teams need to invigorate their seasons after sluggish starts. Liverpool have lost back-to-back games, while Everton have only won once this season, with defence a cause for concern.

Martinez’s men have conceded 13 goals in 2014-15, after shipping six against Chelsea and three at home to Crystal Palace in their last league outing.

“It’s been terribly frustrating,” Jagielka conceded. “Being captain and at the centre of a defence that has conceded so many is tough. It puts a frown on your face and makes things a bit harder to bear but I believe in the players around me and I think we can go on a run and keep clean sheets.

“There have probably been 10 individual errors by eight or nine different players so it’s not one person making repeated mistakes or one consistent thing. It’s been a catalogue of errors. Us as players need to stand up in certain situations and cut out the mistakes.”

The two clubs have struggled in the early stages of the season and clash at Anfield on Saturday with Brendan Rodgers and Roberto Martinez both looking for three points

Roberto Martinez believes Everton and Liverpool head into the Merseyside derby in similar shape after stuttering starts to the season.

The previous campaign was a stellar one for both clubs, as Liverpool almost clinched their first Premier League title in 24 years, while Everton mounted a serious challenge for Champions League qualification before eventually finishing fifth and settling for a place in the Europa League.

The 2014-15 season has not gone to plan so far, with Everton winning just once in their opening five top-flight encounters, while their city rivals have lost three of their games to fall seven points behind leaders Chelsea at this early stage.

Ahead of Saturday’s clash at Anfield, where Everton have not won since 1999 and were hammered 4-0 last season, Martinez believes both clubs are taking time to adjust with new-look squads and a more hectic schedule.

“Every team changes when you change personnel,” he told reporters. “You need to find different ways of playing and there is a little bit of adaptation with European football because we’re both going through the same period.

“It’s early in the season and it’s about adapting to those demands and having different players and new ways of playing because obviously Luis Suarez was very significant.

“The game is going to be exciting. I think this one is building up to being a very good game. It’s only three points, but three points that are very, very important for both sides.”

Martinez still has doubts over the fitness of Steven Pienaar (groin) and Seamus Coleman (head injury), but Bryan Oviedo made his first appearance since breaking a leg in January in Tuesday’s 3-0 Capital One Cup loss at Swansea City.

Arouna Kone was an unused substitute at the Liberty Stadium after overcoming a knee problem, and the Cote d’Ivoire international is in contention again for the trip to Anfield.

Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers sees Saturday’s game as an opportunity for his side to put their inconsistent start to the campaign behind them.

“In the league, with us winning two games and losing three, it’s not ideal but there are still positives to take out of it,” he insisted.

“If I look at the corresponding games last season, there’s only a one point difference and we ended up doing okay. We know we need to be better, we know we need to improve our performance levels.

“The derby gives us an opportunity to do that – it provides a platform to go on a good, consistent run. Last season, we had a great spell after our win [in January].

“They’re a good side, with very good players. They’re different to us, but they’ve got a lot of quality.They’ve probably not got the results they’ve wanted, but Roberto is an excellent manager.

“He’s done a great job there and being a derby game, it will be tough for us.”

Rodgers revealed on Thursday that Daniel Sturridge (hamstring) is nearing a return but remains a doubt, while Liverpool also have concerns over Joe Allen and Glen Johnson (both knee) as well as Jordan Henderson (hip) and Philippe Coutinho (groin).

The 25-year-old has not featured for Liverpool since a 3-0 win over Tottenham at the end of August after sustaining a thigh injury on international duty with England

Brendan Rodgers remains optimistic that Daniel Sturridge will return for Liverpool’s Merseyside derby clash with Everton on Saturday.

The 25-year-old sustained a thigh injury while on international duty and has not featured for Liverpool since the 3-0 win over Tottenham at the end of August.

With Liverpool struggling for consistency at the start of the new season, Sturridge’s return would represent a huge boost to Rodgers and his men, but the Northern Irishman is not yet able to provide a definitive answer on the striker’s availability.

“We’ve got a number of injuries that we’re just going to give every chance to,” he told reporters. “Obviously the game is 48 hours away.

“[Sturridge] is a player who is out on the field working. Daniel and a number of others we’ll assess nearer the time. If he doesn’t make it, then he won’t be far off after that.

“He is someone that responds well to treatment and it’s gone well – he’s out on the field. There’s still a couple of days to go yet before the game. The most important thing is that he is nearer to fitness.

“He certainly won’t be match fit – he hasn’t played for a few weeks. But it would be great to have him back because he’s a wonderful player for us.

“He’s a great reference for our team at the top of the field. His pace and movement and quality that we saw the last time he played for us, against Tottenham. He was exceptional.

“We’ll be very happy to have him back and we hope that can be this weekend. But we’ll assess over the next couple of days.”