Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk is eyeing home comforts as the Reds end their gruelling run of four matches in nine days, with four successive Anfield games ahead — beginning with Villarreal in the Champions League on Tuesday.

Virgil van Dijk is relishing the prospect of home comforts as Liverpool finally conclude their gruelling schedule of four fixtures in nine days.

Liverpool host Villarreal at Anfield on Tuesday night exactly nine days after Manchester City's visit, having travelled to LASK in Austria and Brentford in the interim.

Despite a contentious loss to Premier League rule-breaching City, when the Reds saw Ryan Gravenberch dismissed while the match was goalless before ultimately falling 3-0, the Liverpool captain has been able to look back positively on two triumphant away performances ahead of the Spanish side's arrival.

Villarreal's visit marks the start of a four-match sequence spanning 12 days for the Reds, with every one of those encounters taking place at Anfield.

Following Tuesday's fixture, they will host Brighton on Merseyside this Sunday, before a Carabao Cup encounter against Chelsea and a meeting with reigning champions Arsenal, all on home turf.

It represents an opportunity Van Dijk is keen for his team to capitalize upon.

In his programme notes ahead of the Villarreal match, the Reds skipper wrote: "We arrive into this game on the back of two hard-fought wins away to LASK and Brentford, and it is important that we do everything we can to maintain that forward momentum this evening.

"Having done a lot of travelling in the last week, our next four games are all at home and we need to use that to our advantage if we can.

'Anfield is always a special place to play, and especially on Champions League nights such as this. The atmosphere will be amazing and hopefully we can give you all something to cheer and smile about.

"Saturday's victory at Brentford, like I say, was extremely hard-fought and extremely important, even more so given the disappointment of the Manchester City game the previous week.

"We know that it is a very difficult place to go for any team, and the fact that we were able to come through a tough first half and come away with the three points was very pleasing. We showed character and we deserved what we got.

"I believe you can see there, and in Austria a few days before that, the steps that this team is making. We are not perfect, by any means, but we are all working extremely hard to become a team that is hard to beat, which sticks together and which can compete and get results on a consistent basis.

"That is what is expected of you when you play for Liverpool, and everyone inside the dressing room understands that, I can assure you. The quality and the potential is there within this group of players, for sure, and it is up to us now to deliver."