Alexander Isak and Cody Gakpo doubts for Liverpool’s Manchester City clash

Liverpool head coach Andoni Iraola says Alexander Isak and Cody Gakpo are both injured and may miss Sunday’s Premier League meeting with Manchester City at Anfield.

The forwards returned early from international duty after suffering injuries. Isak has a thigh problem, while Gakpo sustained an ankle injury while with the Netherlands.

Neither player is currently fit, leaving Liverpool with uncertainty over their attacking options ahead of one of their most demanding fixtures. Hugo Ekitike is already unavailable with a long-term Achilles injury.

“I think Alex Isak and Cody Gakpo both have had to leave the national teams with injuries,” Iraola told beIN SPORTS.

“Now it’s a matter of if they are going to recover in time to help us in the next game or not. But right now they are both injured.”

Liverpool have not lost since Iraola took charge, winning four and drawing three of their opening matches. However, their displays have not always matched the strength of those results.

Manchester City will arrive at Anfield in impressive form and have posed a significant attacking threat in recent games. Iraola expects his side to produce an outstanding performance if they are to prevent City from extending their winning run.

“They’ve won all of them, so it makes a big difference in their side,” he said.

“I think we need to be very, very good if we want to beat City because they’ve been especially offensively scoring a lot of goals lately.”

Despite the possible absences in attack, Iraola believes Liverpool’s defensive progress gives them reason to be confident before the fixture.

The Liverpool head coach acknowledged the threat posed by City’s key players but said his side had improved at the back in recent weeks.

“We know the names that are very dangerous. But I think also we’ve shown good defensive improvements lately and I hope we can,” he added.