Jurgen Klopp says Virgil van Dijk is in contention to start for Liverpool at Newcastle

Jurgen Klopp has confirmed that Virgil van Dijk should be ready to start Liverpool’s huge clash with top four rivals Newcastle on Saturday.

The Dutch defender has been sidelined since coming off at half time in Liverpool’s 3-1 defeat by Brentford on January 2, but he was on the bench for the Merseyside derby on Monday.

Klopp has now revealed that Van Dijk has stepped up his recovery this week, and is in contention to play at St James’ Park.

‘I think so,’ Klopp said when asked at his pre-match press conference whether Van Dijk would be back in the team.

‘Yesterday (in training), he looked absolutely ready.’

Jurgen Klopp has said Virgil van Dijk is in contention to start for Liverpool against Newcastle

Van Dijk made the bench against Everton and got involved in the mass brawl in the second half

Having Van Dijk back is a huge boost for Klopp as he looks to turn Liverpool’s season around

Van Dijk’s return would be a major boost for Liverpool as they aim to secure back-to-back wins to close the gap to the top four.

Liverpool have won just one of their four leagues games and were knocked out of the FA Cup by Brighton during Van Dijk’s lay-off. 

The Reds delivered a much-improved performance in their 2-0 win over Everton, and can move to within six points of Newcastle with a win this weekend. They would also still have a game in hand on the Magpies.

Liverpool’s injury list has been a problem this season, though, and Klopp has stated that he will still be without a number of first-team regulars for the trip to Tyneside.

‘Same squad as Monday night. Ibou (Konate) not yet, Luis (Diaz) not yet. But that’s it pretty much,’ he said. 

‘Nothing happened on the injury side. Thiago out. Calvin (Ramsay) had surgery, not available.’