"It's one of the most important games you can play in the season, so no-one can be thinking about Barcelona until after this game," Kuyt told the Liverpool Echo on Wednesday.

The Reds have not beaten their arch-rivals in the Premiership in nearly three years. Their last match at Old Trafford last October ended in a 2-0 defeat.

"I think we owe a performance after Old Trafford. That was a disappointing time and we definitely want a better result at Anfield this time," said the Dutchman.

"It would be a great result for us if we could do it," the 26-year-old said. "We just need to go and approach the game as we've done in the last week."

Liverpool have shown great form recently, beating Barcelona at Nou Camp in the first-leg of the UEFA Champions League round of 16 last week before crushing Sheffield United 4-0 on Saturday.

"If you can beat a side like Barcelona with players of the quality of (Lionel) Messi and Ronaldinho, you know you can beat a lot of teams.

"We've come back from Barcelona and done a good job at the weekend with a win and a clean sheet. Now we want to beat United," the Dutch international added.

After Saturday’s big test against United, Liverpool will be faced with a tougher test when European champions Barcelona visit Anfield on Tuesday.

A draw or even a 1-0 defeat will be enough for the 2005 European champions to oust the Spanish giants.

Liverpool currently hold third place in the Premier League table on 53 points, 7 adrift of second place Chelsea.