David Moyes accepts Everton have to find a way to bridge the "gulf" between them and the Liverpool squad in the final Merseyside derby at Goodison Park.
The 122nd and final encounter against their Stanley Park neighbours sees one of the widest gaps between the two teams, with the Reds looking to go nine points clear at the top of the Premier League and their hosts 30 points behind, albeit nine clear of the bottom three.
Everton's net spend over the last decade is around £300million, most of that excess coming in the early years of the chaotic reign of former owner Farhad Moshiri, but recent seasons have seen a tightening of belts as the club struggled - and failed - to comply with profitability and sustainability rules.
Liverpool have spent over £580m during that time but have been rewarded with Premier League and Champions League titles, in addition to an FA Cup and two League Cups.
While head coach Arne Slot was able to rest nine first-choice players for the weekend cup upset at Plymouth, Moyes named two goalkeepers and three academy players on the bench for their exit to Bournemouth.
It is particularly galling for Moyes, who knows a thing or two about punching above his weight as, in his first spell in charge, he finished ahead of Liverpool three times.
"We've always been chasing Liverpool, probably no more so than now," he said.
"I think the gap between the two teams at the moment is probably as big as it's been for a long time.
"It's something I have to try and bridge and start bringing the two clubs closer together. I certainly need to bring my club closer to their club if I can.
"There's a gulf between what's going on (regarding transfer comparisons) and everybody's aware of the situation here and the difficulty."
A quirk of the weather - the original fixture was postponed in December due to Storm Darragh - means Moyes gets the chance to be in charge for Goodison's final derby, having returned to the club last month to replace Sean Dyche.
And while he has a few good derby memories, his record is not great with just four wins and 13 defeats in 25 meetings.
His Liverpool counterpart Slot meanwhile hopes his first-choice side will handle the emotion of Goodison Park's final Merseyside derby better than the second string whose "unacceptable" performance resulted in them being dumped out of the FA Cup by Plymouth.
That starting XI still included nine senior squad players, including a forward line of Federico Chiesa, Diogo Jota and Luis Diaz, but could not find a way to break down committed and organised opponents.
The likes of Mohamed Salah, Virgil van Dijk, Alexis Mac Allister and Cody Gakpo will all be back for the derby.
"It should have an impact because if you are working at a club like this you should compete for every trophy. To lose against Plymouth is not acceptable," said Slot of their cup exit.
"Now we have to show a different side of us tomorrow because it wasn't only the result but the performance was far from what Liverpool's standards are as well.
"It is probably going to be a fantastic atmosphere and that is never easy to play against because every single time they cross the halfway line or get a corner the fans will cheer for that and then you have to be mentally really strong as an away team to resist all that.
"You still have to be focused on what you have to do: defending the corner, defending the set-piece and when you have the ball be as calm as you can.
"It is not the first time for these players playing in an atmosphere like this. I hope they can focus on what they have to do but it is not only tactical, you also have to stand up those emotions.
