Ahead of his side's trip to Old Trafford on Sunday, Virgil van Dijk insists that the Manchester United clash is not Liverpool's biggest match of the season.
Grudge matches between English football's two most-successful clubs have historically had lots riding on them for either side when it comes to challenging for major honours but while Liverpool go into this fixture with an eight point lead at the top of the table after winning their opening eight Premier League games of the season, United are languishing in 12th position with just nine points and are already 15 points adrift of their visitors.
Although the traditions of the long-standing regional rivalry between the two North West powerhouses has made this a powder keg encounter for both sets of supporters, Van Dijk reckons that the magnitude of the occasion is more for those in the stands than on the pitch given United's demise in recent years.
He told Sky Sports : “It's massive, but it's more massive for the fans. I think all of the Champions League games are as big as this.
“The whole atmosphere and leading to the actual game is bigger than some other games but I don't think it's the biggest of the season.
“The big ones are the Champions League and the ones that are hopefully going to win us the Premier League title.”
Despite United's sluggish start, van Dijk acknowledges that Liverpool's opponents would love to kickstart their season with a scalp against Jurgen Klopp's side and will raise their game on the day.
He said: “They want to bounce back for all they've done this season and it's not what they've wanted so far, but we want to go out there and extend our points tally and keep winning.
“They're not in the best way, they're not fully confident and they're not in the situation they want to be in. But the good thing about football is you can bounce back in any game.
“They might think this is the best occasion to bounce back from it but we know that. We want to go out and fight for every metre on the pitch and try and take the three points back to Liverpool.”
