Anything less than a victory for the Midlanders could leave the Reds able to settle for a point with Steve Bruce's men ahead of a final day showdown with Newcastle, but Houllier will not change his tactics whatever the result on the South Coast.
Houllier said: "We are going into two matches we have to win. The fact we are playing later than Aston Villa won't change our attitude because with Newcastle playing on Sunday, we know we have to win whatever happens to Villa.
"I won't change my team or philosophy because of earlier results. We want to keep the momentum of our last couple of games until the end. There are just two more hurdles for us to overcome now."