Our worry list before Sunday: Isak and Gakpo have Iraola’s attack hanging by a thread

Andoni Iraola does not need telling how big Sunday is. Manchester City at Anfield was always going to carry extra weight this season, and now it arrives with two of Liverpool’s most important attackers under a fitness cloud. Alexander Isak and Cody Gakpo both picked up issues on international duty, and the head coach is left waiting on medical updates rather than planning his best eleven.

Isak’s thigh issue is the lesser worry, for now

Isak was sent home early from the Sweden camp after feeling tightness in his thigh, and while the early word from Stockholm is encouraging, nobody at Liverpool will relax until he has trained properly on Merseyside. Sweden boss Graham Potter did not sound overly alarmed when he spoke about it, explaining that what looked like a routine knock in the game turned into something that needed scans once the swelling settled in the following days. He stressed the decision to withdraw Isak from the rest of the camp was made jointly with Liverpool’s medical staff, which tells you the club is being cautious rather than panicked.

That caution matters because City at Anfield is not a game to gamble fitness on. Our read is that Isak should be fine to be involved in some capacity, whether that means starting or being held back for the bench, but Iraola will not know for certain until close to kick off.

Gakpo’s ankle knock is the more uncertain one

Gakpo’s situation reads worse simply because there is less clarity attached to it. He had been excellent for the Netherlands before a heavy challenge left him unable to continue against Serbia, and asking to come off mid game is rarely a good sign for a player who prides himself on playing through knocks. Liverpool will run their own checks now he is back, but until the swelling goes down there is no reliable timeline, and that is the kind of uncertainty that frustrates coaching staff more than a clear cut setback would.

Losing Isak or Gakpo individually is something Iraola’s squad can absorb. Losing both for City would strip out pace, movement and composure in the final third all at once, right when Liverpool need every one of those qualities.

The wider injury list offers mixed news

Away from the two forwards, there are some longer term stories moving in the right direction. Giovanni Leoni, Liverpool’s £26m centre back signing from Parma, suffered an ACL injury on his senior debut against Southampton back in September 2025 and has been absent ever since. He is now expected to return to full training shortly after the City game, with a realistic target of first team involvement potentially arriving around the Carabao Cup visit of Chelsea later this month, even if under-21 minutes come first as part of his reintroduction.

Federico Chiesa has still not played competitively under Iraola because of a back issue picked up in preseason against Como, and seven missed matches is longer than anyone at the club would have wanted. The hope is that the international break has given him enough time to be in genuine contention for City. Hugo Ekitike remains the longest term absentee after rupturing his Achilles against Paris Saint-Germain back in April, though his inclusion in Liverpool’s Champions League squad hints at optimism that he could be back before the turn of the year. Conor Bradley is further away still, with his manager recently making clear that the full back is only touching a ball again in individual sessions after knee surgery, and that patience remains the order of the day.

Our take: Iraola needs his attack fit more than he needs a tactical masterplan

Strip away the occasion, the history and the noise around this fixture, and it comes down to something simple. Liverpool’s biggest problem heading into City is medical, not tactical. Iraola can out think his opposite number all he likes, but none of it matters much if his two best attacking options are unavailable or undercooked. For now, all anyone at Anfield can do is wait for the team news and hope the scans come back kinder than the knocks looked.