Iraola confirms Isak and Gakpo will miss Liverpool-City clash through injury

Just days before hosting the league leaders, Anfield received news nobody wanted. Andoni Iraola confirmed that Alexander Isak and Cody Gakpo will be unavailable for this weekend's clash against Manchester City, right when both had been among Liverpool's standout performers at the start of the season.

The bad luck struck twice during the international break. Isak suffered a thigh injury while playing for Sweden against Romania, while Gakpo came off worse from a challenge by Sasa Lukic in Serbia's match. Two significant absences for a team that needed to arrive in peak form for the meeting with City.

Iraola made no effort to hide his frustration when discussing the situation: "Alex Isak and Cody Gakpo are not going to play in the match. They're not ready. Unfortunately for us, both got injured during the international break. As a coach you're always waiting until the games, hoping the doctor doesn't call you or give you bad news. In this case we've had bad luck."

Cody has an ankle injury. He's had some before in his career and it's a matter of him dealing with the pain. When you twist your ankle, it was a really bad challenge I think, he's doing individual work but he's not ready for Sunday.Andoni Iraola

On Isak, the coach was somewhat more optimistic about the timeline, though equally clear about this weekend: "Alex has a thigh injury. It's not a big injury, it's a small injury. As soon as he feels ready. Neither of the two looks like anything long term, we'll keep assessing day by day, but they won't be ready for Sunday."

With that outlook, all eyes turn to Lewis Koumas as the attacking alternative. Iraola backed the youngster without hesitation: "Koumas has our trust. I don't think it will be a big surprise. I've always liked the player. He's already shown in important minutes that he's ready to take the step up. We also have other players who can cover those positions. Now we'll have to make decisions."

The list of absentees up front doesn't end there. The coach noted that he also doesn't have Hugo Ekitike available, another forward he hopes to have back later on, and that a possible return for Federico Chiesa remains uncertain, since the Italian hasn't logged any minutes and has spent the break recovering while training with a reduced group. "Of the four strikers it's true that we'll probably only have Koumas, but we have other options, wingers who have played as center forwards at other clubs, and I think we'll put out a lineup with enough quality to compete throughout the match," Iraola explained.

An unbeaten City side arrives as league leaders

The match carries an extra edge: it will be Manchester City's first away trip since an independent commission found the club guilty of breaching Premier League financial rules, a ruling the club denies and has already appealed. That, however, has done nothing to dampen their form on the pitch.

Iraola was clear about the challenge ahead: "Every match is an exciting match. We're playing at home, at Anfield, against City, who are top of the table right now. They've won every one of their matches and I think we're going to go for the game. I think it will be a fairly open match and we need to be ready and also draw on the help of our fans, I hope we're at the level that a high voltage match like this demands."