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Olivier Giroud insists he is not intimidated by the prospect of facing Virgil van Dijk when Chelsea will try to derail Liverpool's bid for Anfield on Sunday.
The former Southampton midfielder has emerged as the quintessential candidate to be crowned footballer of the year in the PFA team, helping to make Liverpool's once-porous defense the most formidable in the Premier League.
Giroud, meanwhile, was forced to play the second violin of Gonzalo Higuain, recruited in January, since his January loan to AC Milan, but the Argentine has scored only in two of his 12 matches.
The former Arsenal striker however impressed during the Europa League campaign and produced another great performance in Slavia Prague's 1-0 win on Thursday. Giroud scored the winning goal when Chelsea met Liverpool in the back of last season and also got the better of Van Dijk in a recent international friendly.
More: Soccer
Giroud said: "I have played against him several times and the position has always been difficult because he is very good and very strong, but I have scored a few goals against his opponent.
'I played against him in the Netherlands when we played recently, but I won last year, scored at Stamford Bridge and scored the winning goal at the Stade de France against the Netherlands a few months ago.
"We do not need to be scared and no matter who plays, we will be 100% focused on the win."
More: Chelsea FC
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