Virgil van Dijk will raise his game for Erling Haaland when Manchester City visit Anfield to face Liverpool on Sunday.
That's the view of former City striker Shaun Goater, who is relishing the heavyweight match-up at the weekend, even if the Reds have been out of sorts so far this season.
Jurgen Klopp's side has made a stuttering start to the Premier League campaign with just two wins in their first eight matches putting them well down the pecking order in 10th position. In stark contrast, Pep Guardiola's side have been flying. They sit a point off the summit and have been boosted by the devastating form of summer signing Erling Haaland, who has already notched an incredible 15 goals in just nine Premier League appearances.
READ MORE: Virgil van Dijk fumes at Liverpool team-mates as Thiago Alcantara bemused by referee
READ MORE: New post-match footage of Gabriel and Jordan Henderson emerges from Arsenal vs Liverpool game
But Goater, who scored 103 goals in 212 appearances for City from 1998-2003, is excited about the prospect of the big Norwegian going up against Van Dijk on Sunday, in a clash of the titans.
Speaking on City's official website matchday coverage, Goater said: “Virgil van Dijk is not quite at his best at the moment but if you love the game, you want to see the two best players facing up to each other. You want to see the great teams facing each other when they’re both in form.
“But I think it’s one of those games where Virgil van Dijk himself, no matter what form he’s in, he wants to be raising his bar back to his best to say: ‘Today Haaland ain’t scoring. City ain’t scoring’. He will be up for that. But at the same time, Haaland will be thinking: ‘It’s about time they know about me, in terms of if they don’t already know, they’re going to know’.
"So I think it’s a beautiful game to be watching and seeing who comes out on top. I think Haaland himself has said that Virgil van Dijk is one of the toughest defenders he’s played against. The two of them will try to get the best of each other.”
Liverpool can ill-afford to lose any more ground on their rivals if they are to give themselves the chance to make a success of their Premier League season. Should the Reds prevail against City, they will narrow the gap behind the defending champions to 10 points. But if City chalk up a rare Anfield away win, they will be 16 points clear of Klopp's side by the middle of October.
READ NEXT:
-
Danny Murphy names two possible Jurgen Klopp replacements and makes Liverpool top-four claim
- Gary Lineker responds to Liverpool thrashing of Rangers with major claim
-
'Complete embarrassment' - Scottish media deliver damning Rangers verdict after Liverpool thrashing
-
'The real Liverpool' - National media react to Mohamed Salah hat-trick in Rangers thrashing
-
Jurgen Klopp outlines Mohamed Salah 'hope' after hat-trick from different Liverpool position
