Liverpool have benefited from some legendary centre-back partnerships down the years, each of which provided the foundation upon which success and glory was earned. But the club has also seen what can occur when that solidity is not there, not least two seasons ago when Jurgen Klopp used a scarcely believable 20 different pairings in central defence.
Although injuries have again afflicted the Reds' squad in 2022/23, they haven’t been as concentrated at the back as they were in that testing campaign. Only four combinations of centre-backs have been fielded thus far – though that number will likely grow in the Carabao Cup next week – with Virgil van Dijk having been ever-present.
Joe Gomez has been the Dutchman’s most common partner, with 883 minutes played together, ahead of Joel Matip on 574 minutes. Leaving aside Nat Phillips’ one appearance, in the draw with Crystal Palace, the other man at the heart of the defence has been Ibrahima Konate. ‘Ibou’ completed 90 minutes for the first time this season in Liverpool’s 2-0 victory over Napoli in midweek.
