'Make it a difficult night' - Liverpool star Conor Bradley aiming to keep summer signing Florian Wirtz quiet as Northern Ireland eye Germany scalp in World Cup qualifying

Bradley is yet to play alongside Wirtz at Liverpool, as he only returned to action from a hamstring injury in the club's Premier League clash against Newcastle United last month and replaced the German attacking midfielder in the second half. Now, with the international break on, the duo are set to compete against each other in Northern Ireland's World Cup qualifier against Germany on Sunday.

Ahead of facing his Reds colleague, the full-back said: "Florian's a top player. There's a reason we bought him for the money we did. He's obviously had a brilliant few years at Leverkusen, and now he's come to us, and I think he started the season really well. He's really good with the ball, he's really creative, and he's not scared to take a few risks with the ball as well. He's a top player and I know it's going to be a difficult night for me, but hopefully I can make it a difficult night for him too."

Wirtz, who completed a £116 million ($156m) move to Liverpool from Bayer Leverkusen this summer, has featured in Arne Slot's starting lineup in all of their first three Premier League clashes. There was concern over his fitness during the Arsenal game, as the Germany international was replaced by Wataru Endo just a minute before the regulation time ended; however, Slot later clarified that there were no serious injury concerns. 

The reigning Premier League champions will take on Burnley in their next Premier League game after the international break on September 14.