Liverpool may be without FOUR players at Man City as new injury hits Reds

Liverpool travel to Manchester City on Sunday as they bid to get their title challenge back on track, though Reds boss Arne Slot is battling mounting injury issues

Liverpool are facing a mounting injury crisis with four players set to miss Sunday’s titanic clash with Manchester City.

The Reds travel to the Etihad Stadium as they bid to get their Premier League title race back on track. Arne Slot’s side have drawn two of their last three games, while Wolves were unlucky to be beaten at Anfield last weekend.

They still hold an eight point lead at the top of the table, though second place Arsenal can close that down to five points by beating West Ham on Saturday. The Gunners also have a game in hand over Slot’s men.

Slot will be desperate for a positive result over City on Sunday, having dominated them in the reverse fixture at Anfield earlier this season. But he will have to do it without four of his key stars.

The draw with Villa saw Conor Bradley forced off with a muscle injury with 24 minutes till to play. Liverpool are yet to learn the full extent of the right-back’s issue, but he is expected to miss both the trip to City and Wednesday’s clash with Newcastle.

Bradley joins Joe Gomez, Cody Gakpo and Tyler Morton in the Reds’ treatment room. Gomez has undergone surgery on a hamstring injury and is not expected to return until the final weeks of the season.

Gakpo meanwhile is set to be a late decision, with the knock he picked up against Everton ruling him out of Liverpool’s last two games. He is yet to return to team training, with the Dutchman set for a late fitness test.

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To complete the list of wounded, Tyler Morton has undergone surgery on a shoulder issue, ruling him out for some time. The updated injury list means that Slot has been left without a back-up for Trent Alexander-Arnold.

The vice-captain has also only just returned from injury alongside Diogo Jota. The Liverpool boss has admitted he is having to carefully manage the duo’s game-time as they step up their returns.

“We spoke about this already a week ago, that in these five games he already knows how many minutes he would make. That was in a situation where Conor [Bradley] was available as well. Now we maybe have to adjust our plan,” Slot said.

“I said to him, ‘You know why I take you off, don’t you?’ He said, ‘Yeah, we spoke about it.’ But, of course, a player has adrenaline and had just scored. It was a better moment than against Wolves when he lost the ball just before I took him off. He is improving.

“These two players are not injured but they come back from an injury – [Diogo] Jota and Trent [Alexander-Arnold], so that’s also the reason they don’t play 90 minutes five times in a row in 15 days. That would be a big risk, we could see this yesterday with Conor Bradley.”

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