
Van Dijk ready for 'big fight' against Barnsley in FA Cup
Virgil van Dijk has warned Liverpool to be wary of Barnsley ahead of the teams' FA Cup third-round clash on Monday.
The Reds are entering the competition on the back of three consecutive draws, having held leaders Arsenal goalless in their last Premier League outing on Thursday.
Liverpool sit 14 points behind the Gunners in the table, with Arne Slot conceding that his side look to be out of the title race as he aims to turn attention to the other trophies on offer.
One of those is the FA Cup, and Liverpool have progressed from 13 of their last 14 third-round ties in the competition, only losing to Wolves during that time, in 2018-19.
They have not been knocked out at this stage against a non-Premier League side since 2009-10, when they were dumped out by Reading.
And Van Dijk is looking forward to mounting a cup run, though he noted a win against Barnsley is not a given, despite the Opta supercomputer giving Liverpool a 93.3% chance of victory.
"I am really looking forward to the FA Cup, and the Champions League too," Van Dijk said.
Next up, we're back in #EmiratesFACup action pic.twitter.com/R0vNB0Kcl0
— Liverpool FC (@LFC) January 9, 2026
"There are still a lot of games to play and a lot of opportunities to go out and show why we are Liverpool and why we are the reigning champions.
"Any competition is important, but definitely the FA Cup is important. Barnsley will come to us on Monday, and I am looking forward to that game.
"They will try everything in order to get through, and we have to be ready for a big fight and the chances to finish them off."
Liverpool have won eight of their last nine FA Cup matches (D1) since losing 3-2 to West Brom in January 2019.
In fact, their last two home defeats in the competition have been against teams beginning with the letter W (Black Country rivals Wolves in 2016-17 and West Brom in 2018-19).
They have won their last nine home FA Cup matches against teams whose names do not begin with the letter W by an aggregate score of 25-6.











