Alexander Isak and Cody Gakpo injury update ahead of Liverpool vs Man City

Andoni Iraola confirmed that Alexander Isak and Cody Gakpo are both doubts for Liverpool’s Premier League clash with Manchester City.

Isak started the season in impressive form, with four goals in his first five Premier League games, but withdrew from international duty after sustaining a thigh injury during Sweden’s 2-1 win over Romania.

Gakpo, meanwhile, who has been similarly bright under Iraola so far this season, is also an injury doubt, having been substituted after only 17 minutes against Serbia.

The Netherlands forward was on the receiving end of a strong tackle from Sasa Lukic and eventually requested to be taken off after attempting to carry on.

The pair returned to Liverpool for assessment, but Iraola confirmed that both could miss the hotly-anticipated clash with City at Anfield on Sunday.

‘I think Alex Isak and Cody Gakpo both have had to leave the national teams with injuries,’ the Reds boss 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.’

Elsewhere, Jeremy Jacquet is also an injury doubt after he missed France’s 4-1 win over Belgium with a ‘strain to his left hamstring’.

The 21-year-old has started every league game so far this season alongside captain Virgil van Dijk in central defence.

Sunday’s match against rivals City has taken on added significance after Enzo Maresca’s side were found guilty of 114 charges relating to the Premier League’s financial rules.

Liverpool have finished runners-up to City three times since 2013, including a remarkable tally of 97 points in 2018-19, which remains the highest total for a team finishing runners-up in the history of England’s top flight.

On how his side will approach the game, Iraola 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.

‘We know the names that are very dangerous. But I think also we’ve shown good defensive improvements lately and I hope we can defend the threats that they have and also hurt them on the other side.’

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