Gini Wijnaldum believes work done on the training field nine months ago will stand him in good stead when he walks out at the Etihad on Tuesday night. The Dutch midfielder will have a pivotal role to play in helping Liverpool reach the semi-finals of the Champions League. With Jordan Henderson banned and Emre Can injured, Wijnaldum will be asked to operate in front of the back four. He has spent most of his career further forward but Jurgen Klopp was prepared for this eventuality. During pre-season last July the Reds boss experimented with Wijnaldum in the holding midfield role and he played there during the tour of Hong Kong. He also spent 90 minutes there in Saturday’s Merseyside derby stalemate.
“The manager was trying it in pre-season and he said it might happen in the season,” he said. “He said at that time that it could happen that I will play in that position and he might look to do it in the future. Now that time has come. “Normally, I stand higher on the pitch but in this position you get more on the ball, you have a lot of moments. When you play one position ahead, you have less moments. “You are more responsible because you are the second or sometimes the first man in the build up. You are quite an important player in that position as well.”
Wijnaldum, who will have James Milner and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain playing ahead of him, will be tasked with launching attacks against Manchester City and helping to ensure the Reds don’t drop too deep. They have a commanding 3-0 lead from the first leg but the former Newcastle man knows they can’t afford to just defend. “We are not going to sit back. We are going to play our game,” Wijnaldum added. “That is what we always do. Of course we know that we are not already in the next round, we first have to play the game. “We know how strong they are, especially when they play at home, but they have to think about us too and where we are strong. It’s going to be a nice game I think. “Everything can happen. We are excited that we won 3-0 but of course we know that we are not in the next round. We know that we have to fight for it again and that is what we are going to do.”
