The Reds midfielder spoke ahead of Sunday’s Premier League Merseyside derby.
Liverpool midfielder Georginio Wijnaldum has spoken out ahead of Sunday’s Premier League derby against Merseyside rivals Everton at Goodison Park.
When the two teams met in December, Divock Origi’s 96th-minute winner saw Liverpool claim a dramatic 1-0 victory at Anfield.
This weekend, Jurgen Klopp’s charges cross Stanley Park for the 233rd instalment of the derby, boosted by a 5-0 win over Watford in midweek that keeps them top of the table.
Liverpool’s recent record against Everton is impressive – according to 11v11, the Reds haven’t lost to the Toffees in 18 games over all competitions, not since October 2010.
At Goodison Park, meanwhile, the Reds drew their last game 0-0 in April 2018 but the time before then, in 2016-17 – Wijnaldum’s debut season for the club – they ran out 1-0 winners.
The Dutchman, who has made 32 appearances in all competitions this term (Transfermarkt) is anticipating a hostile atmosphere by the home fans but he says he will use it to spur him on and added how good it feels to win on their enemies’ turf, as he has done once before.
“Yeah, it’s nice,” Wijnaldum told Sky Sports News about what he expects in terms of the atmosphere generated by Everton’s fans at Goodison. “You use it to spur you on. It’s great to win there. My first year we won there.
“In the derby, their fans expect a lot from the players, they will support the players on the pitch. It’s a totally different atmosphere to a normal game, but we go there to play football and to hopefully enjoy it.”
Everton, meanwhile, endured a difficult February but ended the month on a high note with a 3-0 win over Cardiff City last time out.
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