Higginbotham gives view from Britannia

You joined Stoke City in August 2006. What sort of a club are they? How do they compare to other teams you've played for?

Stoke is a fantastic club with great supporters that just love their football. It's a very family-type club with people behind the scenes who love the club. Just take the recent BBC documentary called 'Marvellous' on Neil 'Nello' Baldwin - Stoke's legendary kit man who used to be in the circus and who Lou Macari named 'their greatest ever signing'. It was the best time of my career at Stoke, and I've got some very fond memories. 

What are your memories of Liverpool, growing up in Manchester as a United fan and then rising through the Academy ranks there?

Liverpool are a huge club and there has always been a big rivalry - I would say more so than United and Manchester City. I remember playing against the youth teams of Liverpool and playing against the likes of Michael Owen and Steven Gerrard and so one of my favourite moments as a youth team player was going to Anfield with United in the Youth Cup and winning there in January 1997. Both Owen and Gerrard played on the night, but United were 2-1 winners. 

At senior level, you played against Liverpool 12 times during your career - what do you remember about those games and visiting Anfield in particular?

Two games at Anfield stand out in my mind. The first was my first victory there with Southampton. I think it was Christmas time 2003 and we either won 2-0 or 2-1 and it put us fourth in the league table at Christmas. It was a very special occasion to win at Anfield. The other was the first season in the Premier League with Stoke and somehow we drew 0-0. Steven Gerrard had a goal disallowed wrongly in the first few minutes and somehow we managed to not concede and get an unbelievable draw at the time. 

How much of a loss will former Red Victor Moses be on Saturday?

Moses will be a huge loss for Stoke and the style they like to play, especially away from home and the way that they counter with pace. 

Defensively, Stoke seem to have encountered problems in recent weeks. How much of a factor could that be in the game?

I think that's less likely to be a problem away from home. On the road, they try to play compact, with plenty of players behind the ball waiting for the counter-attack, so recent injuries might not trouble them as much.

If you were in Mark Hughes' position at Anfield on Saturday, how would you instruct your players to approach the match?

The first thing I would tell them would be to quieten the home fans down. It's a special atmosphere against Liverpool at Anfield. If Stoke can do that and grow into the game, then a sense of frustration might be generated in the stands and then, in turn, on the field. 

Who should Brendan Rodgers and Liverpool fans be most worried about in this Stoke side?

Mame Biram Diouf is leading the line well with his physicality and pace. Jon Walters is also an Evertonian and he will be looking to make up for last season's penalty miss in the final minutes of the opening game of the season. Also, Bojan, who signed from AS Roma in the summer, is a player that now seems to be finding his feet in the Barclays Premier League. 

How do you assess Liverpool's season so far? What do you feel is needed to turn things around?

It's been a disappointing start for Liverpool after such an outstanding season last year. Luis Suarez has been a huge miss and Daniel Sturridge is missing with injury also. I just feel Liverpool need to get back to basics and become defensively stronger. They still seem to be playing this counter-attacking style, but without most of the pace they had last season. 

What's your prediction for the match?

Last season I would have seen nothing less than a Liverpool win. But the key to this game will be the first 20 minutes. If Stoke can frustrate Liverpool early on then I can see them getting a result. So I'll say 2-1 to Stoke.