Liverpool club captain Virgil van Dijk isn’t expected to have a role to play when the Reds kick off their 2025-26 League Cup campaign and welcome Southampton to Anfield, but that doesn’t mean the world’s best centre half doesn’t have fond feelings towards and memories of England’s second cup competiation.
Having lifted the trophy in 2022 and 2024 and then made it to the final again last season, Van Dijk has plenty of experience playing in the later stages of the tournament—and high hopes for another
deep run and perhaps even another title to add to Liverpool’s current record ten League Cup triumphs this season.
“On a personal level, I will never forget the feelings that we had at Wembley when we beat Chelsea in both 2022 and 2024,” Van Dijk reflected in his matchday notes. “Those days stand among the best I have had. Of course, we then suffered disappointment when losing to Newcastle United in last season’s final.
“That wasn’t great, but we are all looking forward to getting going again tonight as we welcome one of my former clubs in Southampton. We come into the game with a lot of confidence. To record three victories in the space of six days, all against opponents who we knew would be extremely competitive, says a lot.
“We had to dig deep, even suffer at times, but I believe the hard work we put in can be seen in our performances. Already we have seen players coming off the bench to impact games, and I think it says a lot that even those who perhaps haven’t had the minutes they would have liked are able to make a difference.”
Rotation tonight against Southampton will give some of those same players a chance to play a key role from the start—and to perhaps even argue their case for more minutes in the league and Champions League, as Liverpool will now face a daunting schedule with two games a week for the foreseeable future.
“We have a lot of games coming up in the next few months in multiple competitions,” Van Dijk added. “The message to every player is the same: work hard, be humble, keep your focus and make sure you are ready when called upon. It won’t just be 11 or 12 players that bring us success, it will be the whole squad.”
