Loris Karius believes Virgil van Dijk will provide an injection of steel to Liverpool’s Champions League challenge.

The £75million defender is set to take his European bow for the Reds in Wednesday night’s last 16 first leg clash with FC Porto.

Van Dijk delivered a commanding display in Sunday’s triumph against his former club Southampton and Karius is relishing having the Dutchman organising the backline in front of him.

“Virgil has played quite a bit now and we’re getting more used to each other - that’s important for the team,” Karius said.

“He’s a top player - that’s why Liverpool paid the price they did for him. Of course he has to adapt a bit because our style is so different. We defend high. He needs to get used to Dejan (Lovren) and Joel (Matip).

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“But the more he gets used to our style, he’s finding his feet more and more. It’s good to see and as a keeper you feel comfortable having players like that in front of you. The clean sheet was great for all of us.”

Karius made a big contribution himself at St Mary’s with a couple of crucial saves to keep Saints at bay. His confidence is growing as he looks to prove to Jurgen Klopp that he’s the long-term answer for Liverpool between the posts.

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“It’s my job to help the team and I was happy with that,” he said. “I’m feeling good, I’m feeling strong and getting consistent game-time helps a lot. In the last few games I’ve had more stuff to do and I’ve been able to make some saves.

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“I always try to be there when the team needs me. It definitely helps when you play regularly instead of coming in and out of the team. I enjoy every day of being here as it’s a great club.”

Another gutsy and well drilled defensive performance will be required in Portugal against the Primeira Liga leaders.

Liverpool may have avoided the likes of Bayern Munich, Real Madrid and Juventus in the draw but Porto are no mugs.

Sergio Conceicao’s side progressed into the last 16 as runners-up in Group G behind Besiktas.

“They play good football but we’ll go over there determined to get a good result in the first leg,” Karius said.

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“Having the second game at home can be a real advantage for us. But for it to be an advantage we need to put ourselves in a good position in the tie.

“We go there with belief. Hopefully we can keep another clean sheet and get an away goal.”

Liverpool showcased their threat on the counter as they tore Southampton to shreds. The prolific double act of Roberto Firmino and Mohamed Salah did the damage and they will lead the charge once again in Porto.

“You always have a good feeling with those guys up front,” Karius added. “We know they can create some magic and score wonderful goals. The whole team is working to put those guys in good positions and to create chances for them.

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“We have some very big games coming up and now it’s important to maintain this form. We want to go as far as we can in the Champions League. We need a bit of luck in terms of avoiding injuries, but we can’t look too far ahead.

!The first challenge is to get into the last eight. We’ve shown this season that we can beat the big teams and we need to maintain this momentum.

"We could have played a bit better football wise in the first half against Southampton, but when you’re not at your best you need to defend well and we did that. We stuck together and scored two great goals."