Mirror Football provides all the latest Liverpool news ahead of their Premier League encounter against rivals Manchester United this weekend.
Liverpool host Manchester United at Anfield in a blockbuster Premier League clash on Sunday. Despite a very strong start to their season, Liverpool have been pretty poor in recent games – losing three in a row.
United haven’t been much better, though. Ruben Amorim made some smart signings over the summer, with the likes of Benjamin Sesko and Matheus Cunha joining up with the squad, but they have not yet gelled as a collective and are 10th in the table. In what is already a hugely tense clash – and the biggest in English football – there is now even more weighing on the game as both teams strive to hit form.
One player with a particularly impressive record in this fixture is legendary wing Mohamed Salah. The Egyptian King has endured a dismal start to the new season and has failed to hit anything close to the form he showed in the previous campaign. With 23 goals in 17 matches against United, he’ll be confident of performing.
Ahead of this huge fixture, Mirror Football takes a look at the latest news coming out of Anfield.
‘No more excuses’ for Alexander Isak
Liverpool legend John Aldridge says there are “no more excuses” for new signing Alexander Isak.
Isak signed from Newcastle United during the summer window in quite dramatic circumstances – forcing his way out of the north east club after a long period of speculation. Along with that came a huge £125m price tag, which invited a lot of pressure.
He hasn’t exactly hit the ground running, with Frenchman Hugo Ekitike far outperforming him to date. Someone who is well-placed to talk about a striker’s expectations is Aldridge – one of the most prolific goal-scorers in the history of English football.
In his column for the Liverpool Echo, he said: “During my playing days, people used to talk of needing a month or so to get up to match fitness over the summer and Isak will have had about six or seven weeks by the time Manchester United arrive at Anfield on Sunday afternoon.
“OK, the games he has been involved in for Liverpool so far have all had something riding on them because they were not friendly fixtures, but it feels like the international break for Sweden will have helped him get fitter at club level.
“Now is the time for him to deliver. No more ‘excuses’. No more ‘explanations’. It’s United up next and there is no better time or team to show why you are one of the main men now at a club the size of Liverpool.”
Liverpool could be without five players against United
Arne Slot will be sweating over the fitness of five players ahead of the match against Amorim’s Red Devils.
Ibrahima Konate is one of the newest injury concerns. He was withdrawn against Chelsea and then France confirmed he returned to Liverpool during the international break due to the injury.
He is expected will undergo a late fitness assessment before facing Bruno Fernandes and co. A pillar of the defence in recent years, Konate is another player who has been below par this season.
There are two longer term injuries. Brazilian shot-stopper Alisson is out for a number of weeks due to a hamstring problem, so Giorgi Mamardashvili will fill in for him. New man Giovanni Leoni suffered a brutal knee injury last month and is out for a year.
Midfielder Wataru Endo, who has proven to be a shrewd acquisition in recent years, was withdrawn from the Japan squad at the last minute prior to the international break due to an undisclosed injury. Japan’s manager Moriyasu Hajime explained: “I was thinking about whether to call him up until the very last minute. Asking him to come from Europe again would be a burden for him, so I thought that the current number would be enough.”
Ryan Gravenberch is the fifth player on this list, who was withdrawn at half time while playing for Netherlands against Finland. Ronald Koeman did confirm it was a minor hamstring problem, with Gravenberch later detailing it was partly fitness-related and that he is “feeling good”.
Cody Gakpo: Isak’s situation is unfortunate
Liverpool forward Cody Gakpo says it is unfortunate that new signing Isak was not able to have a full pre-season.
Much has been said about Isak’s fitness following his move to Liverpool and the talisman has not yet played a full game in his new colours. He trained away from the first team at Newcastle while the whole transfer saga unfolded.
Speaking to Premier League productions, Gakpo said: “I think it’s always been difficult when new players come in to adapt to the team. But I think now when we have a lot of new players, sometimes it’s difficult when you change the team.
“We lost also a lot of players who were here [for] a long time. We were together for a few good years now. So, some players left, Lucho [Luis Diaz] left, Darwin [Nunez] left, Jarell [Quansah] left and Harvey [Elliott] left as well. Then you have to replace them and new players come in and you need to make it fit. I think that’s going well.
“We try to get to know each other every day better and better again. It’s also a little unfortunate with Alex [Isak], who didn’t really have a pre-season. It’s all these things together – but I think we will find a way forward.”
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