Van Dijk has been a pillar of consistency throughout his five years on Merseyside, but was part of a defensive unit that was tormented and terrorised by an Ivan Toney-less Brentford attack. The Bees had the ball in the net on four separate occasions in the opening 45 minutes and while only two of those efforts ultimately stood, that penalty box proficiency was indicative of their superiority against a creaking defence and a non-existent midfield.
It later transpired that unlike Harvey Elliott and Kostas Tsimikas, who were unceremoniously hooked for “tactical” reasons at the break, that Van Dijk’s non-appearance in the second period was because of a hamstring injury. And a potentially serious one at that.
Speaking after Monday’s 3-1 defeat in west London, Klopp intimated that Van Dijk’s substitution was precautionary, saying: “Virgil felt a little bit his muscle, but he said he’s fine and he’s a very good judge of these things,” he said.
“I didn’t want to take any risk. The physios looked quite happy when I said I didn’t want to take a risk. It’s not an injury, he just felt the intensity.”
However, it has subsequently been reported that Van Dijk’s injury could be worse than initially thought and that he is due to see a specialist to determine the severity of the strain. Hamstring injuries are graded from one (a mild pull) to three (a complete tear) with the latter generally taking between four and eight weeks to properly heal. Klopp will be crossing his fingers that the injury clears up in a couple of weeks rather than months.
Van Dijk may not have been at his imperious best for much of the campaign, but his absence would deprive Liverpool of their best centre-back and create a leadership void at a time when such influence and experience are required to galvanise the side. Liverpool’s defeat at Brentford was their fifth in the league in 2022-23, three more than the entire 2021-22 season.
An alarming stat emerged after the Brentford fiasco that summed up the major issue that Liverpool have encountered this season: only Leeds and Fulham have conceded more “big chances”, defined by Opta as a “situation where a player should reasonably be expected to score,” than the Reds this campaign.
Patching up Liverpool’s defence with Van Dijk out will feature predominantly on Klopp’s priority list, but restocking the midfield will be even higher. Although defenders have been guilty of committing poor individual errors (e.g. Ibrahima Konate’s panicky reaction to Bryan Mbeumo’s press on Monday night), they have been overworked due to failures higher up the pitch.
Analysis: Bellingham may think twice about joining ‘declining’ Liverpool
By Mark Douglas, i‘s northern football correspondent
Jude Bellingham is a generational talent, whose shirt is adorned by the number 22 because he can play as a number 4, as an 8 and a 10 all at the same time.
But as Liverpool will find out if they are banking on a £120m summer move for Bellingham to solve their engine room issues at a stroke, there are some midfield voids too big for even him to fill.
Bellingham is Liverpool’s first-choice target but even he may not fix the gaping holes in midfield (Photo: Stefan Brauer/DeFodi Images via Getty)
Jurgen Klopp’s big red machine is broken, and it doesn’t take a genius to work at why. At their best – and they were just an Aston Villa collapse and a Real Madrid revival away from the quadruple six months ago – Klopp’s way demands intensity, drive, physicality, athleticism and unity from the group.
But those qualities have been absent at Anfield for a large part of this curious season. Results, like a recent four-match winning run, have often hidden underlying anxieties about Liverpool’s shortcomings which start with a misfiring midfield.
Van Dijk’s latest injury should be less detrimental to Liverpool’s form than his previous one. The Dutchman’s season-ending lay-off in October 2020 was compounded when Joe Gomez and Joel Matip also succumbed to long-term ailments; they are both fighting fit presently, as are Konate and Nat Phillips.
Klopp’s enduring faith in Van Dijk’s talents is evident by the fact that the Dutchman has started in all 17 of Liverpool’s league matches to date, a run that looks set to end at Brighton on 14 January. In contrast, Gomez has started nine times, Matip on five occasions, Konate twice and Phillips once; that rotating cast of central defensive partners to the main man suggests Klopp has struggled to find his best combination.
Although Gomez was in fine form before the World Cup, he has often looked at his most vulnerable without a commanding presence alongside him and has more recently been used as a defensive right-back. Konate’s recovery pace, which is crucial given the notoriously high line that Liverpool employs, and Matip’s experience, may see them become Klopp’s go-to pair in the coming weeks.
Now would be as good a time as any for any of that quartet to press their starting claims ahead of Van Dijk’s return.
Five replacements on Fantasy Premier League
Liverpool’s ascent in the Klopp era has naturally resulted in their most consistent players becoming desirable – and expensive – Fantasy Premier League assets. Of the four priciest defenders in FPL, three play for Liverpool: Trent Alexander-Arnold (£7.3m), Andy Robertson (£7.3m) and Virgil van Dijk (£6.5m), with Manchester City’s Joao Cancelo (£7.3m) the odd one out.
In previous seasons, the vast majority of FPL managers would have assembled their defences around one, two or even three members of Liverpool’s backline. That has not been the case this time around given Liverpool’s ongoing defensive issues and the dwindling attacking output of their full-backs.
Van Dijk is Liverpool’s top-scoring defender this term with 58 points, but that total is bettered by 11 others, all of whom – with the exception of Cancelo – are cheaper. That makes it straightforward to trade Van Dijk if you are among the 14.7 per cent of managers who currently have him in your squad.
Trippier is the top-scoring defender in FPL (Photo: Getty)
By now everyone still actively playing the game has the points machine Kieran Trippier (£6.0m), who has impressively amassed the second-most points in the game behind only Erling Haaland. Adding a second Newcastle defender into the mix looks a great strategy given the Magpies have the best defensive record in the division; Fabian Schar (£5.0m), Sven Botman (£4.4m) and Dan Burn (£4.5m) are all great options.
Luke Shaw (£5.0m) is a no-brainer on recent form, outscoring even the mighty Trippier since the World Cup with 32 points over the last three gameweeks. Manchester United’s short-term schedule is not the best: they play Man City (at home) in Gameweek 20 followed by Arsenal (away) in 21; but they do have a promising run from 22 to 25 with three homes games against Crystal Palace, Leicester and Brentford and a sole away fixture at Leeds.
It’s a similar story for Manchester City options. City are one of two clubs (with Spurs) slated in to play twice in Gameweek 20, but those matches are against Manchester United and Spurs. If you fancy bringing in a defender with a double gameweek, Manuel Akanji (£5.0m) looks like the safest pick from City’s backline at present and is reasonably priced.
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