Lucas Paqueta has heaped praise on Brazil teammate Casemiro, lauding the Manchester United midfielder's dedication to working behind the scenes to maintain the standard.
Paqueta's West Ham United host the Reds in another massive Premier League clash on Sunday, with Erik ten Hag's side hoping to re-establish a four-point gap between themselves and fifth-placed Liverpool. Jurgen Klopp’s side beat Brentford 1-0 on Saturday and are now just one point short, having played twice more.
United midfielder Casemiro has been crucial to his side's pursuit of a top-four place this season, with the Brazilian's elite mentality rubbing off on those around him at Old Trafford and every day at Carrington.
ALSO READ: Eriksen starts and Fred axed in United predicted XI vs West Ham
Such professionalism has seen the deep-lying midfielder stay at the highest level since joining Real Madrid a decade ago. And the 31-year-old's dedication to the game has been an inspiration to Brazil teammate Paqueta.
"Casemiro is a great player and a friend, and I’m looking forward to playing against him on Sunday," the West Ham midfielder told his club's in-house media team. "He’s an example to follow as a person and a professional.
"He does so much to improve as a player when he’s not at the training ground - the way he recovers - I have seen it when I’m with the national team. He has all his routines that he does at home. I have learnt a lot from him. He’s a great person and obviously a great player too."
Two wins and a draw in April somewhat relieved West Ham's relegation fears, but with just four points between them and the bottom three, their season is far from over. A trio of defeats in their most recent games means points are still needed to guarantee safety.
"We have always been positive and believe we’ll have a good end to the season," Paqueta added. "We all think the same.
"Winning always makes everything easier. The atmosphere is better, training sessions, everything… we know that it will be a very difficult game on Sunday, another difficult game, but we’re at home and the support of our home fans will really help us. We’ll go out to get the three points."
READ NEXT
