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It's time for Joe Gomez and Joel Matip to step up for Liverpool with Virgil van Dijk unlikely to play again this season... but the pair have never started together at centre back but must hit the ground running ahead of gruelling six matches in 18 days

One rash tackle, one grimace of pain, one season-ending injury to Vigil Van Dijk. Suddenly, the mood around Liverpool has changed dramatically.

The Reds' talismanic centre back requires surgery on his ACL injury suffered in Saturday's Merseyside Derby, as a result of Jordan Pickford's horror challenge in the early stages which, remarkably, went unpunished.

With the transfer window closed until January, Jurgen Klopp has a defensive problem he must have dreaded. Van Dijk has been an ever-present since his £75m signing in January 2018, having played 93 consecutive Premier League matches, and replacing him is a near-impossible task.