Van Dijk urges Liverpool to maintain three-game winning run

Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk has called on his side to carry their momentum into Sunday's Premier League home match against Brighton & Hove Albion, with kick-off at Anfield set for 2pm GMT.

The Reds arrive at the fixture on the back of three consecutive wins, including away victories against LASK and Brentford followed by Tuesday's Champions League win over Villarreal.

"Momentum is a big thing in football, and it is important that we maintain ours," van Dijk wrote in the matchday programme. "After three wins in a row, there is definitely a good feeling within the group right now, but that will count for nothing unless we follow up with another strong performance."

Van Dijk acknowledged Liverpool's inconsistent start against Villarreal, admitting the first half was below par. "The first half, and the first half an hour in particular, was not the best – and I definitely include myself in that – and we found ourselves behind, deservedly so," he said.

He pointed to the team's second-half response as evidence of progress. "We battled our way back into the game and our performance in the second half was much improved," van Dijk added, singling out Rio Ngumoha, Alexis Mac Allister and Florian Wirtz among the individual performers.

The Dutch defender warned Brighton will pose a serious challenge. "They have good players and have been performing at a very high level this season, so we will need to be at our very best if we want to come away with all three points," he said.

Liverpool currently sit fifth in the Premier League with 12 points from seven matches.