Neville: "Can't stop thinking about Haaland against Virgil Van Dijk"

Gary Neville

believes the outcome of Liverpool's match against

will depend on Virgil van Dijk's performance against "absolute phenomenon"

.

Before Sunday's matchup at

Anfield

, City was one point behind Premier League champions Arsenal, while Liverpool was 13 points back and appeared mathematically eliminated from title contention.

Due in no small part to Haaland's fantastic performance,

Pep Guardiola

's men are the only unbeaten team in the Premier League. Haaland has set new marks for most goals (15) and goal involvements (18) in a player's first 10 games in the top tier despite only playing nine games in the campaign so far.

Neville is looking forward to the matchup between the Norwegian striker and possibly his toughest opponent yet, Van Dijk, on Merseyside. 

"I still think, no matter what form Liverpool are in and where they are, Sunday will still feel like the toughest game they [City] are going to face,"

Neville told Sky Sports.

"

Look, at the end of the day you know what I feel about those two clubs, but on Sunday you can't help but think of Haaland against

. You just can't stop thinking about how that's going to play out. The best centre-back in the world for the last three or four years, who has struggled a little bit more this season. 

"

But he's against this absolute phenomenon. That Liverpool back line, which pushes up with space in behind… I'm fascinated by that, I can't wait for it, to be honest."

Liverpool

have not beaten the Premier League champions in their last five encounters (D3, L2). They have never gone six games without beating City in the Premier League before.

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