Goals from Dominik Szoboszlai, Mo Salah and Cody Gakpo have given Premier League leaders Liverpool a 3-0 half-time advantage over Town at Anfield.
Boss Kieran McKenna handed Jaden Philogene his full Blues debut as he made five changes to the team which lost 6-0 at home to Manchester City on Sunday.
Philogene, who signed from Aston Villa earlier in the month and featured as a sub against City, came in for Jack Clarke, who was left out of the 20-man squad, but was fit, alongside Omari Hutchinson behind central striker Liam Delap.
In central midfield, skipper Sam Morsy was joined by Kalvin Phillips with Jens Cajuste rested and out of the squad due to his recent heavy workload with the club continuing to manage his knee.
Wes Burns replaced Ben Johnson wide on the right with Leif Davis on the left, while Axel Tuanzebe made his first start since suffering a hamstring injury at Nottingham Forest at the end of November on the right of the defence with Ben Godfrey among the subs.
Dara O’Shea continued in the middle with Jacob Greaves coming in for Cameron Burgess, who was left out of the 20.
Christian Walton was on goal with Julio Enciso on the bench having joined on loan from Brighton.
Liverpool also made five changes from the team which beat Lille in the Champions League on Tuesday.
Ibrahima Konate, Alexis Mac Allister, Andy Robertson, Cody Gakpo and Trent Alexander-Arnold all returned to the XI with Curtis Jones missing out having picked up a knock.
Two minutes in, with the home side unsurprisingly seeing most of the ball, Gakpo cut in from the left but shot well over. On nine, Robertson’s effort from the edge of the box was blocked.
The Reds had dominated without seriously threatening but in the 12th minute they went in front. Konate played a pass through to Szoboszlai, who had got behind Phillips, then cut into a wide gap between O’Shea and Tuanzebe before hitting a low shot from the edge of the box into the left corner of Walton’s net.
Town caused the home defence problems for the first time, Hutchinson’s ball in behind for Burns on the right winning a corner, taken by Davis, which Alisson was forced claw away from under his bar, not entirely comfortably. Referee Michael Salisbury gave a rather generous free-kick.
In the 24th minute, Burns suffered an injury after appearing to catch his studs in the turf and twist his ankle as he challenged Gakpo. After treatment on the field, the Wales international eventually left the field on a stretcher to applause from both sets of fans, Johnson replacing him.
Once it had restarted, the game continued in a similar vein, the Reds dominating with the Blues preventing any more serious chances, although Greaves had been force to block Mo Salah’s shot after he had cut in past Davis.
And in the 35th minute, Salah doubled the home side’s lead. Gakpo floated a deep cross to the far post and the Egypt international stepped out away from Davis, who got drawn inside, took a touch before smashing past Walton from a tight angle. The home fans delightedly celebrated Salah’s 100th Premier League goal at Anfield and his 23rd of the season.
Liverpool continued to control the game and look for openings with the Blues occasionally breaking forward, Philogene making a burst forward on the left without finding Delap.
A minute before the scheduled end of the half, the Reds added their third. Szoboszlai’s low shot across Walton from the right of the box was saved by the Town keeper but not held and Gakpo followed up from close range.
In seven minutes of injury time, Trent Alexander-Arnold sent over a very dangerous cross from the left which flew just beyond Luis Diaz at the far post.
Moments before the whistle, Szoboszlai curled an effort from the right of the box across the face and only just beyond the post.
Liverpool had dominated from start to finish, having 72 per cent of possession, and biding their time and creating the opportunities from which they scored.
Town, however, will be disappointed with their defending with the defence and the midfield holding a lengthy discussion after the first.
Going forward, the Blues had failed to cause any concern aside from Davis’s in-swinging corner. Hutchinson, Delap and Philogene’s occasional breaks had been ended by Konate or Virgil van Dijk with little fanfare.
In the second half, the Blues will be looking to prevent the scoreline from hitting the same level as last week’s loss to Manchester City or their previous Premier League visit to Anfield in 2002 when they lost 5-0.
Liverpool: Alisson, Alexander-Arnold, Konate, Van Dijk (c), Robertson, Gravenberch, Mac Alister, Szoboszlai, Salah, Gakpo, Diaz. Subs: Kelleher, Endo, Nunez, Chiesa, Elliott, Tsimikas, Danns, Quansah, Bradley.
Town: Walton, Tuanzebe, O’Shea, Greaves, Davis, Morsy (c), Phillips, Burns (Johnson 29), Hutchinson, Jaden, Delap. Subs: Muric, Townsend, Godfrey, Taylor, Luongo, Enciso, Broadhead, Hirst. Referee: Michael Salisbury (Preston). VAR: Paul Tierney.