Dejan Lovren is hoping to forge a successful centre-back partnership with Virgil van DijkDejan Lovren is hopeful he can strike up a successful partnership with Virgil van Dijk at the centre of Liverpool's defence. The £75m arrival of Van Dijk saw Lovren's place in the side under threat, though rotation by manager Jurgen Klopp has ensured the first-choice central defensive pairing is yet to be determined. Lovren and Van Dijk kept a clean sheet in Liverpool's 5-0 win over Porto and have conceded just two goals when playing together, both against Tottenham in the Premier League. Joel Matip has played four times with Van Dijk and the pair have conceded five goals when playing together, also keeping one clean sheet. Liverpool welcome West Ham to Anfield on Saturday, where victory would see them leapfrog rivals Manchester United to move into second place.

Source: Sky sports February 22, 2018 23:03 UTC