Five reasons why Liverpool can win the Premier League title

5. Virgil Van Dijk

Fabinho will provide the defence with additional protection due to his positional intelligence, but the arrival of Van Dijk in January had a sizeable impact on the team. His leadership and organisation ensured that they did the basics right and made it harder for the opposition to exploit them.

Cutting out mistakes by ensuring there was communication on the line and a clear understanding of what they were each doing understandably made them stronger.

The Dutch defender played a key part in that and he has certainly helped defensive partner Dejan Lovren who was floundering prior to his arrival. His understanding with Fabinho will be key defensively because of how the full-backs like to move high up the pitch which can leave the defence exposed.

There will be times when it is beneficial for the Brazilian to drop between the two centre-backs and others where he can support the counter-press effectively; the defence needs to be aware of his intention.

Set pieces were another area of weakness with eight goals conceded from those situations across the entire Premier League season. Van Dijk’s arrival definitely helped in this area because of some of the reasons mentioned above as well as his aerial ability.

Reducing their weaknesses in this area is important because of how they can struggle to break down some of the lower table sides which prioritise defensive solidity in open play rather than being expansive.

This was a common area for them to take advantage of the Reds because of the chances that can be created with minimum effort utilising a prepared set piece. Being solid in this area makes them harder to beat and means they shouldn’t drop as many points.

Having a solid backline also means that they can absorb opposition pressure in stages which allows the forwards to rest. Without this, the Reds are at severe risk of fatigue during the latter stages of the season because of the high energy levels required for this style to work.