Virgil van Dijk warns Liverpool team-mates they must not take out-of-form Manchester United lightly

Liverpool defender Virgil van Dijk has warned his side that rivals Manchester United will see Monday night’s game between the two sides as the perfect opportunity to find some form after a dire start to the Premier League season.

United have lost their first two games of the campaign – against Brighton and Brentford – for the first time in 30 years and are bottom of the table, with the Erik ten Hag era still yet to get out of first gear. 

But Liverpool have had a slow start to the campaign themselves after draws against Fulham and Crystal Palace, and Van Dijk has told his team-mates that they will not be able to take United lightly.

Erik ten Hag’s side have lost both games so far this season but may target rivals Liverpool

‘They [United] are a good team in my opinion, they have good players all over the pitch,’ the Dutch defender said. ‘Obviously they’re not in the best situation confidence-wise, but it’s the perfect game to turn it around for them.’

Liverpool are already four points behind last season’s Premier League winners Manchester City and won’t want to lose much any more ground in the title race despite the season still being in its early stages.

Van Dijk however insisted that, despite the magnitude of the game and rivalry, his team are focusing on themselves. 

‘We’re looking at ourselves and we want to make sure we’re ready for it and we are going to work hard this week again,’ he said. 

Liverpool are yet to win in the league this season, drawing against Fulham and Crystal Palace

‘It’s massive but it’s not about making a statement, we want to win and do everything that’s possible to win there. 

‘Over the years it has proven tough for us to win there. Obviously last year was a great result, we can’t deny it. 

‘This year they’ve had a difficult start and we’ve not had the best start that we wanted either, so it will be interesting.’

Liverpool beat United 5-0 at Old Trafford last term and took the title race against Manchester City to the final minutes of the season.

United lost 4-0 to Brentford at the weekend and sit bottom of the Premier League table

Liverpool centre-backs Joel Matip (left) and Ibrahima Konate (right) are both injured

This campaign has been a little tougher for Jurgen Klopp’s side so far. Not only have they struggled on the pitch, but they’re had to deal with injuries to key players including Thiago, Diogo Jota, Joel Matip and Ibrahima Konate.

Van Dijk admitted that the injuries have been hard for the team to take, but that they have to get on with things.

‘It’s part of football, unfortunately,’ he said. ‘We have to deal with it, recover as well as we all can and focus on United.

‘It’s going to be a tough game away again but hopefully we get some players back and get a good performance and just be positive and think about winning.’