Liverpool Afternoon Round-Up, Saturday 10th October 2026: Iraola Weighs Up Barcola Role as Anfield Braces for Man City Clash Amid Charges Fallout
The build-up to Sunday's huge clash with Manchester City dominates the afternoon's headlines. Andoni Iraola has dropped a hint that he could push Bradley Barcola into a more central role in the absence of Alexander Isak, with the winger himself giving a "very different" admission about how he's adapting to the switch, according to Liverpool.com and the Liverpool Echo (Liverpool Echo) (Liverpool.com).
There's plenty of talk around Manchester City's guilty verdict in their financial charges case too. The Liverpool Echo say Iraola "threw a grenade" into the discussion when asked about the charges, apparently proving Jamie Carragher wrong in the process (Liverpool Echo), while Enzo Maresca has insisted he is "not worried at all" about the issues surrounding his club ahead of the trip to Anfield, as reported by This Is Anfield (This Is Anfield). The Echo also note Liverpool's defiant unbeaten home record against City throughout the charges era (Liverpool Echo), and pundits quoted by the Echo are split on how the game will go, with it being billed as "must-not-lose" territory for Iraola's side (Liverpool Echo). Elsewhere, the Echo flag that Liverpool's own big summer outlay is coming under scrutiny as the Reds await developments in the City statement situation (Liverpool Echo), Joe Cole has questioned how harshly City should be punished according to Liverpool.com (Liverpool.com), This Is Anfield report mixed fan feeling on potential lost medals despite calls for a harsh punishment (This Is Anfield), and there are also said to be a couple of fresh injury doubts for City before kick-off, as detailed by This Is Anfield (This Is Anfield).
Away from the City build-up, Thiago Alcantara was back at the AXA Training Centre for a meeting with Iraola, sparking talk of a possible coaching return, with LiverpoolFC.com and Liverpool.com sharing insights and a gallery from the visit (LiverpoolFC.com) (LiverpoolFC.com) (Liverpool.com).
In other news, Jamie Carragher has been embroiled in a heated social media row with Piers Morgan over Cristiano Ronaldo's Portugal walkout, branding Morgan an "absolute phoney," with Luis Suarez also mentioned in the fallout according to the Liverpool Echo and Liverpool.com (Liverpool Echo) (Liverpool.com). Former defender Glen Johnson has called for a new contract to be made a priority for young winger Rio Ngumoha, while dismissing talk of a Dominik Szoboszlai departure, per the Liverpool Echo (Liverpool Echo).
On the pitch for the academy, Liverpool's U18s suffered a heavy defeat away at Stoke City in the Premier League Cup, as covered by LiverpoolFC.com and This Is Anfield (LiverpoolFC.com) (This Is Anfield).
Finally, UFC star Paddy "the Baddy" has spoken movingly about losing a friend to suicide as part of Liverpool FC's mental health awareness campaign (Liverpool Echo), and This Is Anfield report that the original This Is Anfield sign has found a "fitting place" following its £115k sale, according to Phil Thompson (This Is Anfield).
This round-up is written with the help of AI, using only the day's headlines from the publishers credited above. Each point links to the original report — tap the source name to read it in full.