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Liverpool face an uncertain season with defender Virgil van Dijk now ruled out for the foreseeable future.
It’s a huge blow for a team that was intent on retaining the Premier League crown it won in the summer.
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Van Dijk is hit by Everton goalkeeper Jordan Pickford to cause his injury
Joel Matip and Joe Gomez are now Jurgen Klopp’s center-back first-choice pairing, but the Reds boss must now regret not being able to hire a defender to replace Dejan Lovren.
The Croatian left in the summer, along with Ki-Jana Hoever, and Van Dijk’s ACL now leaves them incredibly light at the rear.
Sepp van den Berg and Nathaniel Phillips are options for Klopp as substitutes, along with Rhys Williams, who started alongside Van Dijk in the Carabao Cup against Lincoln.
But despite this thin defense, Liverpool should realistically have no problem retaining their trophy thanks to the quality Klopp still has and talkSPORT can tell you why below.
* All statistics are correct as of October 19, 2020
Piers Morgan criticizes the use of VAR after Virgil van Dijk’s injury
Alisson will be back soon
If you were to join the Van Dijk injury with a prolonged absence of the Brazilian plug, then there could be a real problem.
However, Klopp seems positive about his prognosis and there is a suggestion that he could even return to face West Ham on October 31.
Alisson may have only played in three Premier League games this season, but he’s already been in good shape, surpassing expected post-launch goals.
According to FBref, with data provided by StatsBomb, an average goalkeeper would have conceded 4.8 goals in the trio of games rather than the four he actually allowed at the back of his net.
It is the second best record in the top flight so far, behind Aston Villa’s Emiliano Martínez, but more importantly, much better than his replacement Adrián.
The Spaniard has underperformed 1.9 goals, conceding almost one more goal per game than he should.
Alisson’s return will be crucial for the Reds to do without Van Dijk.
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Alisson saves Jorginho a penalty earlier this season
Liverpool’s goal
At the other end of the field, the Reds have you covered.
Losing the dominant Dutch is a huge blow, but when you take a breather and consider the impressive attacking force they have, Liverpool should be able to outclass anyone.
It’s a bit Fat Les, but “we’re going to score one more than you” may have to be the mantra in this chaotic Premier League season.
In five games, Klopp’s team has already accumulated 13 goals, the third-most combined in the division, behind only Tottenham (15) and Everton (14).
When it comes to expected goals (xG), they have outperformed every team, even free-scoring Spurs, with stats suggesting they should have scored 12.9 times, so they’re actually doing it right in front of goal . Perfect, no regression to fear.
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Salah looked strong and scored a fantastic goal against Everton
In the meantime, they may be conceding more xG (8.9) than they would like, it’s fifth worst in the division, but still, they have the best xG difference of either side.
It could be a wild ride without Van Dijk, but the Reds should still be able to defeat their opponents thanks to the skills of Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah.
Mane is hovering around his xG, scoring four times when statistics suggest he would have scored around 3.4 in his first few games, Salah, on the other hand, is doing the job thanks to a couple of penalties.
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Mane is one of Liverpool’s key players and is on his way to becoming a Reds legend
Midfield magic
And to complement the top scorers, Liverpool’s playmakers are doing the job of getting the ball to the right areas of the pitch.
Already this season, they have racked up nearly 3,000 more yards of progressive passing than any other team; the closest are Chelsea, Everton and Tottenham, while they have also made 64 key passes, 11 more than their closest rivals Spurs.
It’s promising, and it gets even better with Liverpool receiving passes to the final third more than any other team, 230 times, 33 more than Man City, while they have completed 71 in the penalty area, 20 more than anyone else.
If Klopp can keep his midfielders – and his wingers – at this rate, there isn’t much that can realistically stop the Reds’ title charge.
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Thiago already looks like a spectacular signing and his excellence could help cover the loss of Van Dijk
Tenacity in the field
It is not only with the ball that Liverpool are already excelling this season.
They’ve won the sixth-most tackles, more than any team in the ‘Big Six,’ they’ve tried more tackles than anyone in the final third and the second-most in the middle third.
Combine that with their elite pressure, 305 final third pressures (97 more than the Spurs in second place) and the fact that they are the sixth best team when you combine the number of players tackled and interceptions, they should be able to stop the opposition sooner. to do so. even reach his bottom line without Van Dijk.
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Jordan Henderson is a leader in the field and helps them maintain their tenacious displays.
But there is a big problem …
Liverpool have been sensational, and one of the big reasons behind that has been the fact that their level never dropped.
However, mistakes that lead directly to shots are creeping into his game.
Last season they only made 10 in total, three years ago there were only nine, while in 2018/19 they went up to 14.
However, in 2020/21, with just five games over, they have already made five mistakes, the most together with Chelsea.
Tottenham, meanwhile, haven’t made a single one, while Manchester United have only made one and Man City two.
You can hear Liverpool v Sheffield United commentary on Saturday October 24 at 8pm – live on talkSPORT
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