Virgil van Dijk has been backed by former Liverpool midfielder Graeme Souness to produce a strong performance against Manchester City star man Erling Haaland on Sunday afternoon.
Liverpool and City will come blows at Anfield in the Premier League with the reigning champions 13 points in front of their rivals after a poor start to the season from the Reds.
Dutch captain Van Dijk has been criticised this season in some quarters for his performances, but Souness is backing the Liverpool number four to be back to his best to keep Haaland quiet.
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Liverpool, who are currently 11th in the Premier League table, kicked off their campaign with a 3-1 win over City in the Community Shield, but things have been far from straightforward since that match.
"Haaland looks like a modern robot and the question everyone will be asking this weekend is how can Liverpool and Virgil van Dijk deal with him?" asked former Reds skipper Souness in his Daily Mail column. "With difficulty, is the facile answer.
"Irrespective of Van Dijk’s form, irrespective of where Liverpool are at the moment, this is a game he should be licking his lips for. He’s going to be playing against the guy they’re all raving about. He can shut them up. Shut out all that white noise.
"When it came to playing, I made it personal. In the Community Shield, Haaland accidentally flattened Van Dijk at one stage with a flailing arm. That would have been more than enough motivation for me.
"I’m not sure Van Dijk is that kind of character, though. I’m yet to see him angry. He just looks like a movie star at times. I don’t think that’s a conscious thing. I just don’t think that anger is in him and I don’t think it’s the kind of individual he is."
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