The latest Liverpool news as Virgil van Dijk finds himself one goal away from joining an illustrious club in Anfield's rich history.
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Liverpool defender Virgil van Dijk.
Liverpool defender Virgil van Dijk.(Image: Getty Images)
Virgil van Dijk is one goal away from joining an illustrious club in Liverpool's rich history. The Reds return to Premier League action this evening as they face Leicester City on Boxing Day (8pm).
Liverpool currently have a four-point lead in the Premier League standings going into that festive fixture at Anfield. Their lead could be reduced after second-placed Chelsea face Fulham in the 3pm kick-off with the Reds also having a game in hand over the Londoners - as well as fellow title rivals Arsenal and Manchester City.
Van Dijk has been a key player behind Liverpool's success this campaign - with the centre-back being ever-present both in the Premier League and the Champions League. The 33-year-old is about to enter the final six months of his contract with the Reds, as his future continues to be the subject of intense speculation.
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With Mohamed Salah leading the goal-scoring charts on Merseyside with 18 goals in all competitions, Van Dijk has also proved himself to be valuable in the opposition's penalty area. The defender and captain has scored two goals for Liverpool this season, one of which came against Arsenal in the Premier League in October.
Should Van Dijk score his third goal of the season against Leicester this Boxing Day, he would join a list of past and present Liverpool stars that also includes Salah. Van Dijk scoring against the Foxes would mean that he would have found the back of the net on each day of the week during his career with the Reds!
Currently, 15 players in Liverpool's illustrious history have scored on all seven days of the week - according to LFC History. Salah is also on the list, naturally, but he's the only current Anfield hero to have achieved the feat.
Steven Gerrard, Jordan Henderson, Sadio Mane, James Milner, Philippe Coutinho and Divock Origi have all scored for Liverpool on each day of the week. Those players are all joined there by Emile Heskey, Robbie Fowler, Ian Rush, Sami Hyypia, Steve McManaman, John Arne Riise and Michael Owen.
Should Van Dijk score against Leicester, then he would become only the third defender to achieve the record for Liverpool after Hyypia and Riise. Crucially for Arne Slot's team, meanwhile, when Van Dijk has scored in a game for them, they have never gone on to lose, with 22 wins and one draw - with that one stalemate coming vs title rivals Arsenal earlier on this season.