Blues boss Steve Bruce will be without the suspended Nicky Butt plus the injured David Dunn, Muzzy Izzet, Stephen Clemence, Jiri Jarosik and Mehdi Nafti to face the European champions at St Andrew's.
It leaves Damien Johnson as the only established midfielder available to face The Reds with Kilkenny and Olivier Tebily vying for the other central spot.
Kilkenny, who had a spell on loan at Oldham last season, produced a promising performance on Tuesday and his improvement this season allowed Bruce to offload Darren Anderton to Wolves.
Kilkenny said: "I was quite pleased with how it went against Scunthorpe and felt I did what the manager required me to do.
"It will be a different sort of game on Saturday ifI am involved. But if I get a chance I'll respond and do the best I can.
"I played against Bolton and Man City in the FA Cup when on loan to Oldham and held my own against some top players.
"I won't be nervous if I play, and any player would want to test himself against the best.
"I would love to go against Steven Gerrard as he has got everything."