Isak and Gakpo ruled out of Manchester City clash as Iraola issues challenge to squad

Liverpool will be without Alexander Isak and Cody Gakpo for Sunday's huge Premier League clash with Manchester City at Anfield, with manager Andoni Iraola confirming the news and using it to challenge the rest of his squad to step up.

ESPN reports that Iraola confirmed both forwards are "out" of the match against City this weekend due to injury (ESPN). The Liverpool Echo adds detail on the wider squad picture, running through injury latest and possible return dates, and notes there are "some injury concerns" for the fixture, which it describes as an "Anfield bearpit" given the occasion (Liverpool Echo).

Liverpool.com has published Iraola's full comments on the matter, noting the game carries extra spice because of Manchester City's recent "guilty verdict" (Liverpool.com). In a separate piece, Liverpool.com goes further and suggests as many as nine players across both teams could miss out, also flagging updates on Erling Haaland and Isak (Liverpool.com). This Is Anfield broadly agrees that Isak and Gakpo are "OUT", while also reporting that Haaland is fit for City and adding a mention of a "Van Dijk exit hint" elsewhere in its round-up (This Is Anfield).

On Iraola's response to the setback, the Liverpool Echo and Liverpool.com both report that the manager has directly challenged his players to raise their game in the absence of the two forwards (Liverpool Echo) (Liverpool.com). The Echo's headline centres on Iraola setting his "players challenge" following the Gakpo and Isak blows (Liverpool Echo), while Liverpool.com's near-identical report confirms the City boss has "challenged his squad to step up" for the visit of City (Liverpool.com).

The Liverpool Echo also carries a further update suggesting the absentee list could be even longer than just the two forwards, reporting that as many as eight players in total could miss out from the Anfield showdown, alongside confirmation of where things stand with Isak specifically (Liverpool Echo).

Taken together, all the outlets agree on the key fact: Isak and Gakpo are confirmed absentees for the visit of Manchester City. Where they differ is in scope and tone - some stick strictly to the two confirmed injuries and Iraola's challenge to his squad, while others, particularly Liverpool.com and the Liverpool Echo in their secondary pieces, suggest the overall injury toll across both clubs could be far more significant, potentially stretching into eight or nine missing players once Manchester City's own issues, including question marks resolved around Haaland's fitness, are factored in.

Written with the help of AI, using the headlines from the publishers credited above. Each point links to the original report — tap the source name to read it in full.