Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson has won almost every trophy club football has to offer but he has yet to claim the world’s oldest cup competition.
The England star is hoping to change that on Saturday 14 May in the Emirates FA Cup Final.
But to get there, the Reds will first need to beat one of the best sides in world football, Manchester City, in their semi-final on Saturday.
In advance of the game at Wembley Stadium connected by EE, Henderson sat down for a Q&A for the matchday programme and you can read a selection of his responses below.
There is even more from Henderson and a host of other Liverpool and City stars in the official match programme which is available to order online now.
What would it mean to lift the Emirates FA Cup?
It would be pretty special. The FA Cup has always been a special competition and I remember getting to the Final in my first season [with Liverpool] and not quite getting over the line. It’s a competition we wanted to do really well in this season, but it’s going to be a very tough test against Manchester City. We’re going to give it our all and hopefully we’ll manage to get to that Final at Wembley next month.
What makes this City side such challenging opposition?
Everything you see week-in, week-out. They’re a world-class team, with world-class players and a world-class manager. It’s always going to be tough, but we’ll stick to our game plan, give it everything we’ve got and that gives us a chance in the game. Hopefully we can get a little bit of luck along the way and that will see us through to the Final. It’s always a big game when you play them because of how much they’ve achieved over however many years. How good they’ve been over the past four or five years is pretty special. We’ve had some really good games against them in the past. Hopefully the semi-final will be no different.
How do you prepare for these big occasions at Wembley?
We’re used to playing in big games over the past few years and it’s really just about doing the things that we know we’re good at, continuing the things that we want to improve on and keep doing the things that have got us this far so in the competition.
Will Liverpool have to be patient at Wembley?
City are very good at keeping hold of the ball, they’re very good at spending large periods of time with it and getting you to run a lot as an opposition. For us, that high energy, high intensity is a key part of our game. So, we’re two teams with different styles but very often that can make for a very good and very entertaining game.
You’re also something of a Wembley regular now, how does it feel to lead a team out there?
Amazing. To lead this team out has been incredible, not just at Wembley but wherever we’ve played. This will be another special occasion. Like I said, though, we’ll treat it like any other game. Fingers crossed we can perform well on the day.
