Virgil van Dijk can join exclusive list with goalscoring quirk vs. Leicester

December 26, 2024
Jack Lusby

Virgil van Dijk will join an exclusive list of players if he finds the back of the net when Liverpool host Leicester in the Premier League on Boxing Day.

Should Van Dijk score, he will become the 15th player in Liverpool’s history to score for the club on all seven days of the week.

The following players have already managed the feat:

Philippe Coutinho, Robbie Fowler, Steven Gerrard, Jordan Henderson, Emile Heskey, Sami Hyypia, Sadio Mane, Steve McManaman, James Milner, Divock Origi, Michael Owen, John Arne Riise, Ian Rush and Mo Salah.

Salah is three goals away from recording 100 for the club in the Premier League at Anfield.

Salah is also three goals away from joining Thierry Henry in joint-seventh place on the all-time Premier League goalscorers chart – Henry scored 175 goals.

Liverpool now have FOUR suspension risks

Ryan Gravenberch, Cody Gakpo, Dominik Szoboszlai and Darwin Nunez are all one yellow card away from serving a one-match suspension for accumulating five yellow cards.

Festive feast

Liverpool are top of the table at Christmas for the 21st time in their history, the most of any team ever.

This will be their 93rd Boxing Day fixture and their 45th at Anfield. They have won 45 of the previous 92.

Their biggest home win on this day came in 1928 when they defeated Burnley 8-0.

Liverpool have won each of the last seven games played on December 26, scoring 20 times, while conceding just one, with 18 of the goals scored coming in the last five outings.

Only once before have Liverpool kicked off at 8pm on a Boxing Day.

That came in 2019, Liverpool won 4-0 at tonight’s opponents Leicester and went on to win the Premier League title.

They have played the Foxes five times on this day with the Reds winning three and drawing one, with the single defeat coming in 1984.

Record vs. the Foxes

Liverpool have won nine of the last 12 league meetings with Leicester, as many as they had won in the previous 21 against the Foxes.

They have won each of the last four against the Foxes at Anfield. Not since 1966-71 have they won a fifth in succession in front of the Kop.

Should Liverpool score three they will register their 200th goal against the Foxes in all competitions.

Leicester’s struggles

Leicester have conceded the opening goal in 13 of their 17 Premier League fixtures this season.

They have kept one clean sheet in the top flight this season and none in the last 10.

Leicester have won one of their last nine league fixtures, defeating West Ham 3-1 at home in Ruud van Nistelrooy’s first game in charge.

Ruud returns

Van Nistelrooy faced Liverpool on 11 occasions as a player, scoring three times.

He was on the winning side five times, twice at Anfield, but never scored in five outings in front of the Kop.

The first two managers to be sacked in the top flight this season were both replaced by Van Nistelrooy.

When Erik Ten Hag was dismissed by Man United, Van Nistelrooy took over on an interim basis, and he was then appointed as Leicester boss following the sacking of Steve Cooper a month ago.