Olivier Giroud believes he and his Chelsea team-mates have nothing to fear when they come up against Virgil van Dijk in Sunday’s pivotal clash with Liverpool.

The Netherlands centre-back has earned plaudits for the way he has transformed a leaky defence into one that has the Premier League‘s best record this season, conceding just 20 goals in 33 games.

Van Dijk’s form has seen his reputation rise as he’s now considered one of the best defenders in Europe, but though Giroud acknowledged the Liverpool star’s brilliance he is confident Chelsea can beat Van Dijk and company on Sunday.

“I played against Van Dijk personally a few times and it has always been a tough position because he is very good and very strong, but I’ve scored a few goals playing against his teams,” Giroud said on Friday, as reported by Goal.

“The Netherlands when we played recently, but I won last year and scored at Stamford Bridge and scored the winner at the Stade de France against the Netherlands a few months ago. We don’t have to be scared and no matter who plays we will be 100 per cent focused on winning the game.

Chelsea’s France striker also believes team-mate Eden Hazard should win the end-of-season player of the year awards, and not frontrunners Van Dijk or Man City’s Raheem Sterling.

“I would say Eden Hazard [should win it],” Giroud said. “I think I cannot say [who I voted for], I would vote for Eden Hazard [if I could].”

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