VAN DIJK BELIEVES LIVERPOOL ARE GETTING BETTER

LIVERPOOL head into Saturday's 10pm FA Cup fourth-round clash with Brighton & Hove Albion buoyed by a hard-earned 1-0 Premier League victory at Sunderland on Wednesday.

Virgil van Dijk’s second-half header, powered home from a Mohamed Salah corner, proved decisive at the Stadium of Light, ending the hosts’ unbeaten top-flight record on home soil this season.

It was a result built on resilience as much as quality, with the Reds navigating a difficult surface and a hostile atmosphere to claim three vital points in their push for Champions League qualification.

Van Dijk told TNT Sports post-match: “We have to try to keep building, try to stay fit as well and stay confident and keep improving. Today [Wednesday] was a great step forward in terms of our performance with and without the ball.”

On securing the clean sheet, Van Dijk continued: “Very important. I think Ibou [Konate] was outstanding, Macca [Alexis Mac Allister] in front, everyone was putting a shift in.

“I’m proud of the guys. They worked so hard for this today and it’s great to see.”

The result continued signs of growing consistency, something Van Dijk believes will be crucial over the final stretch of the campaign.

With 12 league games remaining, momentum is building – but attention now shifts swiftly to knockout football.

Brighton provide the next test at Anfield on Saturday, and Van Dijk expects another stern examination.

He added: “Now it’s just recover and we play on Saturday again against Brighton, who are a very difficult team to beat. So, we need everyone, we need our fans, we need everyone who wants the best for us in order to get that job done. Now it’s time to recover.”

Weekend’s selected FA Cup fixtures:

Friday: Hull v Chelsea (9.45pm)

Saturday: Burton v West Ham (2.15pm), City v Salford (5pm), Villa v Newcastle (7.45pm)

Sunday: Birmingham v Leeds (2pm), Grimsby v Wolves (3.30pm), Stoke v Fulham, Oxford v Sunderland (both 4pm), Arsenal v Wigan (6.30pm)