Why the duel between Lukaku and Van Dijk could decide Liverpool vs Chelsea game

The build-up to this weekend’s Premier League matches has been one of the best, as fans brace themselves for two mouthwatering games.

Manchester City and Arsenal will kickstart the weekend with an early game, with Liverpool and Chelsea also scheduled to lock horns later in the day.

While much of the talk has centered on the title race and which side would claim the early bragging rights, the subplot pitches a duel between two of the league’s best.

Romelu Lukaku, who made a dream debut on his return to Chelsea by scoring against Arsenal, will come up against Virgil Van Dijk, who has returned from injury to improve Liverpool’s backline.

What happens when an immovable object meets an unstoppable force?We'll find out at Anfield on Saturday. 💥(@Betfred) pic.twitter.com/QfHWYXV36g

— Squawka Football (@Squawka) August 27, 2021

An exciting duel to look forward to

Unsurprisingly, the tabloids seem to be most excited by the possible duel between Lukaku and Van Dijk, as evidenced by the many articles on the topic.

Talk Sport dubbed it as “the unstoppable force against the immovable object.” The Telegraph said it’s “a showdown that will spark the Premier League season into life.”

The Times’ headline also read: “Romelu Lukaku test will show if Virgil van Dijk is back to his best for Liverpool.” There is no doubt that almost everyone cannot wait to see how this duel pans out.

Lukaku and Van Dijk are probably the best forward and defender, respectively, in the Premier League and are key to the fortunes of their clubs.

Saturday’s game between Liverpool and Chelsea may have just three points at stake but the player who comes out on top of this personal battle could decide the winner.

Since joining Liverpool, Virgil van Dijk has the highest duel success rate of any player with 900+ Premier League minutes:◎ 828 duels◎ 612 duels won◉ 73.9% duel successThis will be Romelu Lukaku's biggest test. ⚔️ pic.twitter.com/np67xet0aX

— Squawka Football (@Squawka) August 28, 2021

Van Dijk and Lukaku create puzzle for Tuchel and Klopp

While the media has fanned the fire surrounding the battle between Lukaku and Dijk, Jurgen Klopp and Thomas Tuchel have not been left out either.

Both managers couldn’t resist speaking about the topic in their pre-match press conferences, but the underlying truth is that there’s a puzzle the two managers need to solve.

Klopp has massive respect for Lukaku and his ability and would definitely be having sleepless nights over how to stop the Chelsea striker.

"If you saw the game against Arsenal, the two goals Chelsea scored, one was Reece James crossed to him and you could see how Arsenal tried to defend it and how he [Lukaku] got rid of the centre-backs and got in the box for a pretty easy goal,” the Liverpool boss said of Lukaku, as quoted by the Liverpool Echo.

"The other goal from Reece was because the formation of Arsenal was really central (to deal with Lukaku) so Reece was completely free on the right inside the 18-yard box.

"If we are only focused on Romelu, then Kai (Havertz) and Mason (Mount) will punish you. That's the situation.”

Like Klopp, Tuchel is equally aware of what Van Dijk adds to Liverpool’s game and how difficult it would be for his attackers to get past the Liverpool defender.

“That’s the reality and we should not hide from it. Liverpool with Van Dijk is a different Liverpool than without Van Dijk,” the German said, as quoted by Chelseafc.com.

“It’s not only his isolated capacity and level of performance but also that he makes everyone around him feel more comfortable and be stronger. Together with Matip, it is a huge upgrade to last March.”

There will be 22 men on the pitch when Liverpool and Chelsea clash on Saturday. Any of these players can decide the game but there’s no doubt that a lot will depend on how Lukaku and Van Dijk fare for their teams.