Liverpool will go into Sunday's top-of-the-table clash against Manchester United without one of their most important players.

Virgil van Dijk is expected to miss the remainder of the 2020/21 season after picking up a serious knee injury against Everton back in October.

The Reds have managed fairly well without the Dutchman in the side, but there's no doubt that he'll be sorely missed against United.

Bruno Fernandes, Marcus Rashford, Edinson Cavani, Anthony Martial and the rest of the Red Devils' attacking players would certainly rather come up against Fabinho or Joel Matip.

However, it's not just Van Dijk's defensive prowess that will be missed by Jurgen Klopp's side when they face United.

Van Dijk & Klopp

The former Southampton man is key to how Liverpool attack due to the fact he can regularly find his colleagues on the flanks with accurate long-range passes.

Twitter user @CF_Comps has compiled some of the best examples of Van Dijk's flawless distribution into one video and it proves that he's far more than just a world-class defender for the Reds.

Take a look for yourself below.

Van Dijk's distribution

One Liverpool fan replied to the video: "He’s the most complete centre back that I’ve ever seen. Literally doesn’t have one weakness to his game.

Another quipped: "What a massive miss he is, fit and we would be 6 or 7 points clear."

The Dutchman is essentially the team's quarterback when he's in the starting XI and it's no surprise that Liverpool have suffered as an attacking unit without him.

During Van Dijk's five Premier League appearances in 2020/21, the Reds averaged 2.6 goals, compared to just 2.0 goals in the 12 games without the £72m-rated centre-back.

It's simple, no other player in the Liverpool squad can replicate Van Dijk's contribution to the team's build-up play.

Sadly for Klopp, even the very best players cannot learn to play like the Dutchman overnight, so the boss will just have to accept that his side will be less effective going forward for the next few months.

If Liverpool can win the Premier League without Van Dijk, it will be a momentous achievement.