The loss of Virgil van Dijk has hit Liverpool hard with manager Jurgen Klopp and midfield ace Georginio Wynaldum voicing their disdain for the nature of the reckless challenge by Everton’s Jordan Pickford and their disbelief Pickford did not face disciplinary action for the tackle.

In response to a poll asking fans whether Liverpool can manage without their World class Dutch international centre-back Reds fans were divided almost right down the middle. 52% of fans actually voted for the option of using Gomez, Fabinho and Matip to handle the absence of van Dijk while 48% of fans said the defence will be too weak without him.

Given the nature of the Premier League and the high scoring games that the 2020-21 season has produced already you would still back the Liverpool attack to outscore all the teams in the Premier League on the majority of occasions. Also the goals conceded this season would surely be much improved if Allison had been playing all the games as he hopefully will over the rest of the campaign.

There is no question van Dijk will be sorely missed but his absence gives the opportunity for Joe Gomez in particular to step up and hopefully Joel Matip will be able to regain his form from before his recent run of injuries as the Cameroonian defender was emerging as one of the top 10 centre-backs in the Premier League.

Based on the game he played vs Ajax in the Champions League it seems as though Rhys Williams is ready to contribute at the first team level and Fabinho is so solid you can understand why the slim majority of fans feel Liverpool can manage to compete on all fronts despite the absence of Virgil.

At the same time many fans still feel Liverpool are vulnerable so it will be interesting to see the results of our latest poll asking Which centre-back should Liverpool use to replace Virgil? – Click to vote

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