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Liverpool news: Pundit reveals ONE player who will win Reds the Premier League title
LIVERPOOL centre-back Virgil van Dijk is the player who will win Liverpool the Premier League this season.
That’s the opinion of Phil Neville.
The Reds are right in the hunt for their first title of the Premier League era and the first since 1990.
Jurgen Klopp’s charges are currently two points clear of Manchester City at the summit, although the defending champions have a game in hand on Liverpool.
With 31 games gone, the Merseyside outfit have lost just once but their title charge threatened to come off the rails, going through a spell of four draws in six top-flight matches to give up their position as leaders.
But Liverpool have won three successive matches and secured a stunning Champions League defeat of Bayern Munich earlier this month, winning 3-1 in Bavaria to progress to the quarter finals after a 0-0 first-leg draw.
And they will hope an improved run gives them the confidence to keep their nerve in what promises to be a tense run-in against Man City.
Neville expects them to do just that and believes influential defender Van Dijk, slated by some to be name the Premier League’s Player of the Year, will be crucial over the final seven games.
Assessing his picks to be named the best player of the year, Neville told Premier League Today: “It’s between Van Dijk and Sergio Aguero, and Raheem Sterling as well.
Van Dijk for me is the player of the season
“Van Dijk for me is the player of the season. I think he’s the one that could win Liverpool the league.”
Asked whether he believes Liverpool will lift the title for the first time in the Premier League era, the ex-Manchester United and Everton defender added: “Yeah.
“I said from probably October or November, I thought this was going to be Liverpool’s season.
“I think they’ve come out of that dip now. I think that win at Bayern Munich was massive for them.
“When I see Liverpool now, all I see is Van Dijk. I see a monster and someone that’s leading the team.
Liverpool: Van Dijk says team 'could be better' after Fulham win
“I think that’s something they didn’t have in their previous title challenges that they’ve had.”
Liverpool return to action against Tottenham this Sunday (4.30pm) with Spurs looking to bounce back from a run of four league games without a win, having lost three of those matches.
Klopp has lost just one of the eight matches he has managed against Mauricio Pochettino’s side in all competitions - though Liverpool can ill afford anything but victory.
Man City play Fulham on Saturday (12.30pm) and will be tipped for a high-scoring victory with the most prolific attack in the Premier League taking on the division’s most porous defence.