Georginio Wijnaldum is eagerly anticipating the ‘big fight’ that awaits Liverpool at Goodison Park on Sunday.
The Reds cross Stanley Park this weekend for the 233rd instalment of the Merseyside derby, and they do so on the back of an impressive 5-0 victory over Watford that maintained their one-point lead at the top of the Premier League.
This season’s reverse game against Everton was settled in the most dramatic of circumstances, with Divock Origi bundling home a 96th-minute winner at the Kop end.
That, plus the fact Wijnaldum and his teammates are pushing to win the title, is sure to add an extra layer of intensity to a highly-charged atmosphere at Goodison.
The Dutchman, though, wants Liverpool to use the noise to their advantage.
“Yeah, but we want to defeat them badly too so it works two ways. I expect it’s going to be a big fight,” Wijnaldum said, when the Blues’ level of motivation for the game was put to him.
“It will be a totally different atmosphere to a normal game, but we go there to play football and to hopefully enjoy it.
“You use it to spur you on. It’s great to win there. My first year here we won there. Then last year we had two draws in the league against Everton, and we beat them in the cup.
“The supporters really want to win this game, and so do we.”
