Liverpool face the biggest test of Andoni Iraola’s time in charge on Sunday, and they will do it without the two players who have provided most of their goals.
Iraola confirmed on Friday that Alexander Isak and Cody Gakpo will both miss Manchester City’s visit to Anfield.
Isak has a thigh injury and Gakpo an ankle problem, and both were hurt on international duty.
The numbers show how much Liverpool will miss them.
Liverpool have scored seven league goals this season, and Isak has four of them. That is already one more than he scored in 14 Premier League appearances last season. Gakpo has two goals and four assists in six games in all competitions.
The size of the task
City arrive as the form team in the country.
Enzo Maresca’s side have won all five league games, scoring 13 and conceding five, and sit three points clear at the top. Erling Haaland has five of those goals and Rayan Cherki has four.
A win at Anfield would make Maresca only the fourth manager to win his first six Premier League games in charge of a club, according to Opta. City also won both league meetings between the sides last season, including at Anfield in February.
The last 15 Premier League meetings have averaged 3.1 goals per game.
Liverpool’s strength so far has been their defence. Two wins and three draws have left them sixth on nine points, but they have conceded only four goals, the third best record in the league.
The win at Bournemouth was their third clean sheet in a row in the league, which last happened in September 2024. Iraola is also the first Liverpool manager since Joe Fagan in 1983 to go unbeaten in his first five league games.
The back four of Ronald Araujo, Jeremy Jacquet, Virgil van Dijk and Milos Kerkez has been settled, and Jacquet is fit after his France debut. The problem is further forward, and Iraola has three realistic options.
1. Bradley Barcola as the No 9
Barcola cost £123million but only joined from PSG in late August, after playing no preseason minutes in Paris. He has made nine appearances for club and country without a goal or an assist, and only five of those were starts.
His first Liverpool start, against Atletico Madrid, showed both sides of his situation. He had two clear chances, one saved by Jan Oblak and one dragged wide, before going off just before the hour. “It’s just cramp, there is no injury,” Iraola said afterwards, explaining that the work was about building his physical condition.
Iraola backed him again on Friday. “I don’t think Bradley is in a bad moment,” he said, adding that Barcola can play in every position across the front line. He has played centrally for PSG and scored in his only previous game against City, in the Champions League in January 2025.
Possible XI: Alisson; Araujo, Jacquet, Van Dijk, Kerkez; two from Gravenberch, Mac Allister and Szoboszlai; Ngumoha, Wirtz, Munoz; Barcola.
This would give Liverpool real pace across the front three, and that suits how Iraola wants to play. His teams look to break forward quickly, and Liverpool beat Atletico despite completing 255 passes to their opponents’ 439. Against a City side that will keep the ball, a quick front three could attack the space behind their defence after a turnover.
The concern is fitness. A striker leading the line alone against City has to press and chase for 90 minutes, and Barcola is still building up to that. He also is not a target man, so if Liverpool get pinned back they will have no one to aim long balls at.
2. Lewis Koumas leads the line
If Iraola keeps Barcola on the left, Koumas is the most likely striker.
The 21 year old has been in Liverpool’s academy since 2016 after starting out at Tranmere Rovers. He played 86 minutes in the Carabao Cup win over Tottenham last month, only his second senior start, and was voted man of the match in a side with ten changes. He has also come off the bench in three league games and made his Champions League debut against Atletico. He has 16 caps for Wales.
“Koumas has our trust,” Iraola said on Friday. “No big surprise.”
Koumas explained after the Tottenham game what Iraola wants from him. “A lot of it is about what I do off the ball,” he told the club’s website.
Possible XI: Alisson; Araujo, Jacquet, van Dijk, Kerkez; Szoboszlai, Mac Allister; Ngumoha, Wirtz, Barcola; Koumas.
This keeps Barcola in his best position and adds a striker who will press City’s centre backs and goalkeeper from the first whistle. Liverpool need to disrupt City’s patient build up from the back, so that matters.
The risk is experience. This would be Koumas’ first Premier League start, against the league leaders, in the biggest game of the season so far.
3. Florian Wirtz as a false nine
This is the cautious option. Wirtz has had a difficult time in England, but the international break helped him. He hit the post in the build up to Tom Bischof’s opener against Serbia and then scored the second himself, giving Jurgen Klopp his first win as Germany manager. He also captained Germany against Greece.
Iraola has only used him as a No 10. But Arne Slot played Wirtz as a false nine at times last season, including in January’s draw away to Arsenal.
Possible XI: Alisson; Araujo, Jacquet, van Dijk, Kerkez; Gravenberch, Mac Allister; Szoboszlai; Ngumoha, Wirtz, Barcola.
Moving Wirtz forward lets Szoboszlai play at No 10, with Gravenberch and Mac Allister behind him. That gives Liverpool an extra midfielder against a side built on possession, and it leaves Munoz and Koumas on the bench for the last half hour.
The downside is that Wirtz does his best work between the lines, not with his back to the centre backs. With no natural striker, City’s defenders would be free to step into midfield, and Liverpool could struggle to hold the ball up when they win it back.
Are there other options?
Federico Chiesa is fit again but has not yet made a matchday squad this season. Hugo Ekitike is hoping to return in December after rupturing his Achilles in April. Academy striker Jayden Danns has a knock, and Will Wright, 18, has five goals in four Premier League 2 games but only a few first team bench appearances.
What we think is the best option
The Koumas option is the best balance. It keeps Barcola where he is most dangerous, gives Liverpool energy against City’s build up, and does not ask a player short of fitness to do the hardest job on the pitch.
There is a wider factor too. City are the first of four games in roughly ten days, including the Champions League, so Iraola has to manage minutes as well as pick his best team.
His players will find out on Sunday. Iraola only names his starting XI at the team meeting on matchday.
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