Istanbul hero identifies Liverpool asset as he expresses delight over impressive start to season

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We love Vladimir Smicer.

The former Liverpool man has been impressed with the his old team’s start to the season and is an avid admirer of the players Jurgen Klopp has at his disposal.

Smicer experienced just one Merseyside derby defeat in eight appearances against Everton during his time with the Reds. He has picked out two men he feels are key to Liverpool and has provided some tips for the players ahead of Monday night’s game at Goodison Park.

He told Liverpoolfc.com: “Roberto Firmino and Sadio Mane are a great asset to the club. Every team would miss Philippe Coutinho, I like him, but I’m very happy with what I’m seeing from this team.”

“I’m confident we can have a good game. I like the way this team is playing and I can see a lot of talent.”

“When you play at home you feel safe and you have the backing of your fans but at Goodison Park it’s a really tough place.”

“You need to be ready for the physical side of these games and then if you can play football it’s good.”

“That’s how we won the games because we were ready physically and we wanted to play more football, and the quality was always on our side.”

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Roberto Firmino and Sadio Mane have both been outstanding for much of the season so far and will need to be somewhere near to their best on Monday.

Firmino has admittedly been quiet over the past couple of games but hopefully a derby is what is needed to spring him back into goal-scoring form.

The pair are so important to us during Philippe Coutinho’s absence in terms of not only spearheading the side’s attacking play but also adapting to playing alongside Divock Origi and helping the young striker.

The countdown to the derby is underway.

More Stories Divock Origi Everton Jürgen Klopp Liverpool Philippe Coutinho Roberto Firmino Sadio Mane Vladimir Smicer