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There are plenty of ways to show how Liverpool are about to step into the unknown with Joe Gomez joining Virgil van Dijk on the sidelines.
But one fact in particular highlights the problem Jurgen Klopp must now grapple with as he begins to plan his life without his two first-choice center-backs for what could prove to be a significant period of time.
Since a 3-0 win at Huddersfield Town in January 2018, Liverpool had not lined up for a Premier League match without Gomez or Van Dijk at the heart of the defense.
Dejan Lovren and Joel Matip were center-backs that night, with Gomez operating as a right back while Van Dijk tended to a minor problem.
Lovren, of course, left in the summer, while Matip has rarely been seen of late, his appearance against Manchester City at the weekend is his first in three weeks and only a third Premier League start in 13. months.
However, the Cameroonian is now Liverpool’s only recognized senior central defender, and his long-awaited long-term association at the rear with Gomez lasts precisely because of the only outing at the Etihad.
Whichever avenue Klopp follows now, it will largely be untested.
Fabinho, whom the Reds coach relied on as an improvised center-back in the face of a hamstring problem from which he has yet to recover, has played alongside Matip in defense once in the Champions League goalless draw with Bayern Munich in February 2019.
The Brazilian has also teamed up with 19-year-old Rhys Williams for 45 minutes in Lincoln City, and the teenager’s other senior outings have come alongside the affected duo Gomez and Van Dijk.
And the two first-team appearances for Nat Phillips, who is in any case not eligible for the Champions League until the knockout stages, have been when he teamed up with Gomez.
Jordan Henderson played central defender alongside Gomez in the FIFA Club World Cup semifinal against Monterrey last December, while Gini Wijnaldum participated in a three-man defense in Brighton two years earlier with the late Lovren and Emre Can. .
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However, neither can realistically be considered a long-term option. And the Academy’s Klopp alternatives, Sepp van den Berg and Billy Koumetio, have no Premier League appearances between them.
Then there is the question of transfer.
While there are only 49 days left until the January window opens, Liverpool will still play 11 games before then: eight in the Premier League and their last three group matches in the Champions League.
Such a hectic schedule is demanding a lot from a small group of senior center-backs, with Liverpool now forced to move in the New Year.
The Reds are looking for a number of long-term targets, including Brighton center-back Ben White, and may be looking to advance any potential interests starting next summer.
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Then there is the possibility of Liverpool signing a free agent, although they would need permission from the Premier League board to add their team outside of the transfer window.
That said, the chances are slim with the most experienced center-back available, former Real Madrid and Valencia defender Ezequiel Garay, 34, who hasn’t played since February and suffered a cruciate ligament injury.
Liverpool, apparently, will have to continue with what they have.
Gomez, who had impressively started to take on the additional responsibility in Van Dijk’s absence, will be a big mistake.
Klopp, has become more and more used this season to face the unknown. You will have to do it again.
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