Jurgen Klopp Says Virgil van Dijk Not Training, a Doubt for Liverpool v Chelsea

Liverpool may travel to Chelsea on Saturday without centre-back Virgil van Dijk, according to Reds boss Jurgen Klopp.

The Netherlands international did not feature against the Blues in the Carabao Cup on Wednesday and could miss out on the Premier League clash at Stamford Bridge too.

Klopp said in his press conference on Friday: "We have to wait, he didn't train with the team so far." He continued:

"Virgil is a world-class player, and when you miss a world-class player it's not cool. Dejan Lovren played his first game in 10 weeks and most of that time he couldn't train. If Virgil is fit, he plays. If not, then obviously we have options. We can play without Virgil, thank God. But I prefer if we can. The last game he wasn't available, now we will see for tomorrow."

Per JOE.co.uk's Melissa Reddy, Klopp provided more encouraging updates on Trent Alexander-Arnold and Georginio Wijnaldum:

Van Dijk has established himself as Liverpool's best defender since his arrival at the club in January, so it will be a blow if he's unavailable for Saturday's clash.

Despite doubts over the centre-back's fitness, Klopp still believes his side can keep out the likes of Eden Hazard—who scored a sensational winner to hand Chelsea a 2-1 win on Wednesday—if they defend in the right way.

"I know exactly how good he is," the German said. "He's a special player, and he enjoys these one vs. one situations. I didn't need that game to find out about that. If we had one 100 per cent challenge out of the four or five we had, he wouldn't have been able to do what he did."

On what the Reds can do to prevent him scoring, he added: "Stop passes to him? Good idea. Being close? Good idea, but he likes players being close sometimes. We all know we could have stopped that goal, but he used that situation. No player is not defendable. We have to close the right spaces."

The manager is keenly aware it will be a difficult match, though, per James Pearce of the Liverpool Echo:

Klopp added:

"It will be tough and intense for both sides. It's a big one. It already sounds good, and we have to make sure it is good. Both teams know it won't be an easy game.

"The best preparation for Saturday's game is Wednesday's game. There will be different players but we will learn from the game.

"We try to use the information from [Wednesday] to be better on Saturday. Striking back is a nice opportunity."

Liverpool are the last remaining team in the Premier League with a 100 per cent record this season, and if they come away with a victory on Saturday, they will be five points clear of Maurizio Sarri's side.

Chelsea will be buoyed by their midweek win, though, and three points for them would see them leapfrog Liverpool in the table.

Van Dijk's fitness isn't likely to be the decisive factor in the outcome of this match, but the Reds have a much better chance of picking up a positive result if he's in the side.