As the Premier League’s twelfth day draws to a close, it’s evident that Liverpool and Manchester City will be the two teams most dedicated to winning the league. The Citizens, led by Ernst Haaland, have the tools necessary to defeat anyone in their path, while the Reds, led by Virgil van Dijk, are betting on a strong defence that has played flawlessly thus far. As of right now, the Reds have a stronger balance, which could be evident on November 25, when these two institutions square off in the activity of date 13.
While the productivity of Salah and Nunez can match Pep Guardiola’s advantage over Haland, Man City lacks the defensive resources to match Van Dijk. The only player who can somewhat overshadow the captain of the Reds, Rubén Diaz, is statistically the best central defender in the Premier League. The Portuguese player has been identified as one of City’s most reliable players in recent months, but his current play is not on par with Van Dijk’s, who never gets tired of winning games full of successes that appear in statistics in an impeccable manner. It is extremely difficult to witness the Reds captain lose any aerial ball or miss a single interception, as he is currently the only defender in the Premier League without having been successfully dribbled.
There are many things that can be stated about Van Dijk, including how amazing he was with the Reds in 2018–2019. However, not much has been said about Ruben Días, possibly because of the own goal he scored a few weeks ago against Wolverhampton. What inspired us to discuss this Portuguese player the most.
The next match, Van Dijk might embarrass Rubén Dias.
With 81% effectiveness in defensive duels won by Van Dijk, this player will come to the Manchester City match with the chance to teach defensive duties in an effective manner and demonstrate how to stop an Ernst Haaland who almost anyone finds difficult to control. Those two goals will be sufficient to keep humiliating the City defender, who, despite being regarded as a great defensive player, does not even rank among the best defences in the Premier League.
