Reds Midfielder Praises Long-Time Liverpool Attacking Target Ahead of Champions League Clash

Georginio Wijnaldum has admitted that he and his Liverpool teammates have to respect the abilities of former Reds transfer target Quincey Promes when they face Spartak Moscow on Wednesday night. 

The Reds need just a point against the Russian side to qualify for the knockout stages of the Champions League, but will likely need to grab all three points at Anfield to avoid being overtaken at the top of the group by Sevilla. 

Speaking ahead of the match, Wijnaldum said: “Promes is a real threat. I think he has already showed that in their league games when he has played. He has scored a lot of goals and given a lot of assists.

“He is a player that needs a lot of thought. Spartak are a good team to be fair. They were better than I expected in the first game. They had a few missing that night, including Promes, but now they are stronger.”

Liverpool face Everton in the Merseyside derby on the weekend, but Wijnaldum insisted that he and his teammates would not be thinking about that match until the job is done on Wednseday night - saying: “I don’t think you can go into the Spartak game with the thoughts that a point is enough. I think it is dangerous if a team plays like that. 

"I think you always have to play with the intention that you want to win the game. That’s what we have to do. We’ve got two important games this week and it’s a good thing that we are full of confidence. We have to get a good result first against Spartak and only then will we think about Everton.”