OPINION
Jurgen Klopp said the words that every Liverpool fan was hoping to hear at his pre-match press conference ahead of the massive game against Man United on Sunday.
He declared Virgil van Dijk fit after the influential centre-back missed the Champions League game against Bayern Munich on Tuesday.
Asked how important it was to have the towering 6ft 4in defender back Klopp said, “Very. Like he always is. But the most important thing is that we didn’t miss him as much as a lot of people expected us to because we defend as a unit.”
Liverpool fans might not have expected their side to keep a clean sheet against Bayern without Van Dijk, but they coped admirably well with Joel Matip and Fabinho the heroes in the heart of defence.
25-year-old Fabinho’s reward? We’re predicting a trip back to the bench but only because Jordan Henderson had such a brilliant game at Anfield on Tuesday.
That’s the only change we expect Klopp to make, with Sadio Mane, Roberto Firmino and Mohamed Salah up top, and Xherdan Shaqiri on the bench.
Liverpool fans know how important the game is on Sunday – it might not decide the title but it could prove absolutely pivotal.
And they’ll be desperate for Salah to break his Man United duck – the prolific attacker has never scored against Liverpool’s bitter rivals.
This is the starting XI we expect Klopp to put out on Sunday:
