'He's dangerous, but he's only human'
Gareth Bale is one of the most gifted footballers on the planet but he is not unplayable - that is the message from Jose Enrique ahead of Liverpool's crunch clash against Tottenham at Anfield.
Bale, who is vying for Player of the Year along with the Reds' own Luis Suarez, will arrive on Merseyside a marked man.
His 16 goals in 24 Barclays Premier League games - some of which have been sensational strikes - have helped propel Spurs to third place in the league.
But while Bale will no doubt be a thorn in the side of Brendan Rodgers' team on Sunday afternoon, Enrique is confident the Reds will have a plan in place to subdue his formidable talents.
"He's one of the best players around at the moment and he's scoring plenty of goals," Enrique told Liverpoolfc.com.
"But every player is just a person. Gareth Bale is a person as well. Of course, he's a good player and a complete footballer.
"Before, when people were talking about him, they said that he would need to score a few more goals and now he is a scoring plenty.
"He can play as a winger but he can also play as a No.10. And of course, he's a really difficult player to play against.
"We'll have to play like we have in the last two league games, look to keep a clean sheet and try to stick together.
"Even if you are a really good player, like Bale, if you are against two players it can be really difficult to play. So we will try to stop him and all his teammates because Tottenham have plenty of good players."
Spurs played host to Inter Milan on Thursday night in the first leg of their Europa League round of 16 and enjoyed an emphatic 3-0 victory over the Italians with Bale finding the net yet again.
However, Enrique doesn't believe the exertions of the midweek clash will have a serious effect on the London side's preparation for their trip up north.
"The more games that you have, of course you become more tired but as a professional you are ready for that; you are training every day for it," he said.
"Just a few weeks ago, we were in a similar situation - we were playing a lot of games in a short space - sometimes two games in a week.
"Sometimes it can be the other way round - you can feel even fitter because you are playing in more games. And if you are winning them, then it can give you even more confidence as well.
"So I don't think it will make as much of a difference.
"It's more important that we think about us and focus on playing our football. If we play how we want to play, we can beat anyone.
"But I never think about another team until a few hours a before the game - it's important that we focus on our own game."