Pep Guardiola will tell Erling Haaland to target Virgil van Dijk when Man City take on Liverpool this weekend, Jason Cundy insists.
The talkSPORT host says he ‘feels sorry’ for the Liverpool defender as he is ‘far from it’ before his injury.
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Haaland has scored in his last seven Premier League appearances
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Cundy thinks Haaland should target Liverpool defender Van Dijk this weekend
Last season’s Premier League champions and runners-up face off at Anfield this Sunday, with holders Man City looking to gain ground on leaders Arsenal and Liverpool in hopes of kicking off a disappointing season.
All eyes will be on City’s summer signing Haaland, who will be looking to add to his already outrageous tally of 15 goals in nine Premier League appearances.
Specifically, fans will be looking to see how the Liverpool defence, which has come under fire this season, handle him – and Cundy believes he will target Van Dijk and avoid Ibrahima Konate.
“If I’m Haaland, I’m shooting Van Dijk,” former Chelsea centre-back Cundy told talkSPORT’s Sports Bar.
“Physically, I think he’s stronger, faster. i know he is [Van Dijk] got the better of his injury, but right now, if I look at these two centre-halves and if you’re Pep, which one are you trying to get the upper hand on?
“I’m going after Van Dijk. When was the last time you walked into a game like this thinking that of the two centre-halves, Van Dijk is the one who might not be able to deal with Haaland?
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Fellow Reds defender Trent has also been criticized but will miss the draw with City after picking up an injury against Arsenal
Apart from an impressive 9-0 thrashing of Bournemouth and a 0-0 stalemate against local rivals Everton, Jurgen Klopp’s side have conceded the rest of their eight league matches.
Right-back Trent Alexander-Arnold has faced the brunt of the criticism, with his defensive abilities coming into question after being blamed for a few of his side’s goals this season.
However, Cundy believes centre-half Van Dijk isn’t playing his best football this season either and hasn’t since tearing his ACL against Everton in 2020.
“He had a terrible injury, we all remember that, [Jordan] Pickford out, it’s a penalty, it’s a red card. It didn’t work out, nothing was given in the end,” he said.
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Pickford’s tackle on Van Dijk led to the Liverpool star being ruled out for the rest of the season and missing 45 games
“He suffered a serious knee injury. As someone who suffered knee injuries and retired early from the game, honestly I really feel for him.
“But when you talk about the next step for him and his recovery and how he’s going to evolve as a player, you can see he’s not the same player he used to be.
“There is a lack of movement, a lack of control, there is something about his game that has changed.
“Trent is getting all the abuse right now because he’s an easy target out of position because of the way Klopp wants to play, the midfield is lacking, there’s more than one thing going on at Liverpool right now .
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Haaland and Van Dijk faced off in the Community Shield in July and the defender prevented City’s summer signing from scoring.
“But I feel for Van Dijk because of the injury he suffered, but at the moment he is far from the player he was.”
Given Haaland’s goal threat, the Norwegian will present himself as a real test for Van Dijk and the rest of Liverpool’s back line this Sunday.
But former Reds striker Peter Crouch, who joined talkSPORT Breakfast on Monday, believes even the best defenders would struggle to contain the 22-year-old.
“I don’t know if you can [stop them] at the moment they are full of confidence,” he said.
“Last year they won the league and were the best team in the league. Then they just added 40, 50 odd goals per season.
“Nothing else has changed, they are still creating amazing chances, they are still going to score goals in other areas. But they have the best centre-forward in the world at the moment.
You can listen to all Liverpool v Man City updates on talkSPORT, with kick-off scheduled for 4.30pm.
