Brentford boss Frank insists Toney can rattle Liverpool defender Van Dijk | OneFootball

Brentford boss Thomas Frank says Ivan Toney can give Liverpool's Virgil Van Dijk another good battle on Sunday.

The Bees forward produced a superb display in the last meeting between the clubs in September, which finished 3-3, grabbing an assist and generally being a constant thorn in the Reds defence's side with his aerial presence.

Frank said with a smile: “Virgil is a decent defender so it will be a good battle.

“I hope we have some areas that can trouble Liverpool and I know in the 3-3 game we did fantastic but I watched it back on Thursday and Liverpool were very, very good.

“It is going to be a good game for us."

Frank showed his forward some clips this week to point out he continues to get in good areas but just needs to improve his sharpness.

He added: “I just showed him seven or eight situations from the Southampton game where he is nearly in, in the right area for a cross or a chipped ball behind and it is just about the quality of the cross or him being a little bit sharper.

“I think he is just a bit closer to where he is when he is at his best. The last two games you see the sharpness of his touches was not where it normally is.

“We spoke about that and he worked very hard (on Friday) but it is normal that he goes a little up and down. He is a player who is good to stay in games and the more he works to get that level up I think he will be fine."