Van Dijk’s weekend return pushes Fabinho into competition with Henderson

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Liverpool will welcome Virgil van Dijk back from the suspension that kept him out of the Champions League last 16 first leg tie against Bayern Munich when they travel to Old Trafford to face bitter rivals Manchester United tomorrow.

As per TeamTalk, Jurgen Klopp is welcoming the opportunity to have a selection dilemma for the first time in a little while, with Xherdan Shaqiri also returning to contention.

And van Dijk will likely partner Joel Matip at the heart of the Reds’ defence against Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s men, but it was down to Fabinho to deputise in midweek.

Fabinho and Jordan Henderson were arguably Liverpool’s two best performers against Bayern, with the skipper bang on his game in esteemed midfield competition.

If Klopp sticks with the 4-3-3 system from the Bayern match, there will only be room for one holding midfielder, which is where Henderson and Fabinho both like to operate.

Fabinho was excellent in the first meeting with United this season – the 3-1 Anfield victory in December – and it would feel harsh to drop him after he did so well out of position on Tuesday.

But Henderson is the skipper and was so good against Bayern that he deserves to keep his place too. So Klopp has a tough decision on his hands, unless he reverts back to the 4-2-3-1 system seen at times this campaign.