Ahead of the Premier League clash against title rivals Chelsea, Dutch striker Dirk Kuyt has hailed the form of Liverpool teammate Yossi Benayoun.

Kuyt believes that the Israeli captain’s quality and commitment will help the Merseysiders mount another sustained silverware challenge.

“Yossi is an intelligent player with lots of quality,” said Kuyt. “His biggest quality is to beat players. The way he passes them sometimes is unbelievable. He's got great skill and can do something for us in games to change things.

“Yossi can beat players and score goals. A lot of people will look at him and notice these qualities but he is also a team player. He puts everything into the team effort and also works really hard.

“That is really important. He’s not only a skilful player but also works unbelievably hard for the team.”

Benayoun capped an impressive September with a league hat-trick in the 4-0 win over Burnley.

Kuyt said: “For the last couple of months of last season he was really important for us, scoring goals and playing well as we challenged for the title. This season he has carried that on and is playing very well again.”