Eden
Hazard should win the Premier League Player of the Year award, according to
Chelsea team-mate Olivier Giroud.
Chelsea face Liverpool at Anfield on Sunday, live on Sky Sports, where
Giroud should square up to PFA Players' Player of the Year award frontrunner
Virgil Van Dijk.
Manchester City's Raheem Sterling and Liverpool defender Van Dijk might be
the favourites for the big awards this term, but Giroud believes Chelsea's
Belgian playmaker Hazard deserves the top accolade.
Asked to pick his player of the season, Giroud replied: "I would say Eden
Hazard, but I think I cannot say who I voted for."
Players are not allowed to vote for team-mates in the PFA awards, leaving
Giroud coy on his voting choice for the Players' Player prize.
Chelsea are intent on wrecking Liverpool's Premier League title chances for
the second time in five years this weekend, and boost their own top-four bid
in the process.
The Blues' 2-0 win at Anfield in April 2014 derailed Liverpool's title bid
that year, Steven Gerrard's slip gifting a goal to Demba Ba.
Giroud believes Chelsea boast the potency to repeat that feat on Sunday,
with the 32-year-old drawing on prior successes against Van Dijk.
The France forward scored the only goal as Chelsea beat Van Dijk's Liverpool
1-0 at Stamford Bridge in May last year.
Giroud also netted the winner when France saw off Holland 2-1 in Paris in
September, leaving the Chelsea target man to head to Anfield full of
confidence this weekend.
"I've played against him 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," said Giroud.
"I lost against him when we played the Netherlands 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."
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