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#3 Virgil van Dijk
The Dutchman's swagger and nonchalance drew comparisons to Alan Hansen, and that link to history was complete when Virgil van Dijk became a Premier League-winning Liverpool center-back in 2020.
Along with Joe Gomez, they formed an increasingly robust defense for Liverpool, which was almost impossible to breach, until after they had sewn up the Premier League title last season.
In the 10 games that Liverpool played in the Premier League before the lockdown in March, they kept six clean sheets. That run left them needing just four points once football resumed to win the Premier League crown, which they duly did.
There have been aberrations for van Dijk this year, such as that night at Villa Park when they conceded seven goals. But he still did enough to warrant a spot in the top three.
The Dutchman is currently injured and expected to miss a bulk, if not all, of the remainder of the Premier League season.
However, Liverpool are still flying without him and are top of the Premier League table.
#2 Trent Alexander-Arnold
The Liverpool right-back was the PFA Young Player of the Year for the 2019-20 Premier League season, and it was well-deserved recognition. Trent Alexander-Arnold finished the season with the most assists for Liverpool and was only behind Kevin De Bruyne in the overall assist standings.
Besides, his often-questioned defensive abilities have also been on show this year. Moreover, they have only gone under the radar because of the stellar attacking returns he has managed to provide.
Injuries have slowed down his start to the 2020-21 Premier League season. Still, Alexander-Arnold remains one of the biggest attacking weapons for Jurgen Klopp as he heads into a third title race with this Liverpool squad.
#1 Andrew Robertson
The Scotland captain has been the best defender in the Premier League, but it was a close call between him and his full-back partner Alexander-Arnold.
What tilted the battle in Andy Robertson's favor is the fact that he has managed to be a lot more consistent in the 2020-21 season while also matching Alexander-Arnold through the second half of last season.
Robertson already has five Premier League assists this season, in addition to the 12 that he managed last season.
Since the start of 2020, Robertson has delivered 12 assists from left-back, compared to Alexander-Arnold's seven, which is why he is rated as our best Premier League defender in 2020.
