Anfield Daily — 14 October 2026

Liverpool have confirmed a 23-man travelling squad for the Champions League trip to LASK in Linz, and the three names missing from it are the three names supporters will have expected.

Alexander Isak, Cody Gakpo and Dominik Szoboszlai are all still out, having missed the 3-0 defeat to Manchester City on Sunday, and Iraola has already conceded that changes are likely.

The head coach described the job in Austria in unusually plain terms: no drama, no overthinking, just a win, with a group opener that follows a winning start to the campaign.

Among those named are youngsters who have been training with the senior group and one who could yet make his debut, which tells you how thin the attacking options are. Liverpool have history with this Austrian side, having beaten LASK home and away in the Europa League group stage three years ago.

Iraola did not offer much in the way of a guarantee on selection, but the sense was that he would rotate a side that travelled a long way on Sunday. Expect an early kick-off and a Liverpool performance with more energy than invention.

Milos Kerkez gave the only encouraging note of the press conference when he spoke about Dominik Szoboszlai's hamstring, saying his teammate "won't want to be out for long" and hinting at a quick comeback.

The 25-year-old was ruled out by the problem in the 3-0 loss to Manchester City at the weekend, and it also ruled him out of the midweek Champions League fixture in Austria. Isak and Gakpo are in the same boat, and all three are now doubts for the weekend trip to Brentford after being omitted from the LASK squad.

There is a squad-building anxiety underneath all of this, because a run of fixtures with a depleted forward line is exactly what Iraola's Liverpool side cannot afford in a tight group.

Kerkez also reflected on being back under Iraola for a second spell, having played under him at Bournemouth, and said the familiarity has made settling in easier. The 3-0 defeat at the weekend is the reason the pressure feels real rather than manufactured.

One bad result does not define a season, but three of your best scorers unavailable is a thin margin for error.

Andoni Iraola has gone out of his way to publicly back Florian Wirtz and Bradley Barcola after the two British-record-adjacent signings took criticism for their displays against Manchester City.

"We need other players to give us those numbers," the head coach said, which is as close to an admission as he has come that the supporting cast has not carried its share of the load. Both men came in for stick after Sunday, and both are expected to start in Linz with Isak and Gakpo unavailable.

Milos Kerkez, who plays alongside Barcola on the left, lifted the lid on those conversations and offered a verdict on his teammate's start, and the picture he painted was of a player still finding his feet rather than one who has been found wanting.

Mohamed Salah, no longer a Liverpool player, has rubbed salt in the wound by scoring freely for Trabzonspor at precisely the moment the Reds are short of forwards. The pressure on Iraola's two marquee signings is real, and so is the pressure on the men expected to support them.

Liverpool's recruitment picture is busy again, with Iraola reported to be weighing a €50m-rated star as his next target and an £80m-rated player described as the club's "prime target".

A separate report suggests the club could make a U-turn to sign a £75m Premier League player, so there is no shortage of possibilities and no shortage of names being floated. Closer to home, two pieces of paperwork matter more than any of it.

Rio Ngumoha, one of the brightest young talents in English football and already a regular on the right, is reported to be close to a long-term agreement after progress in talks, which would be a significant statement of intent.

Liverpool have confirmed a landmark new contract for Cam Williams, a defender, with several first-team players including Alisson Becker, Virgil van Dijk, Wataru Endo, Joe Gomez and Kostas Tsimikas in the final nine months of their deals.

The pattern matters as much as the individuals: this is a club tying down its young core while spending again.

The loudest criticism of Andoni Iraola in these early weeks is about the middle of the pitch, where the side has looked short of control, creativity and goals at the same time, and that is now the debate every supporter is having.

A separate line of argument concerns the right-back position, with some arguing Liverpool already have the successor ready and that Jeremie Frimpong's long-term place at the club is not guaranteed.

Frimpong remains a first-team player, and reports that Real Madrid have sent scouts to watch a Liverpool star in action have not helped that uncertainty.

On the other side of the ball, Ronald Araujo, signed on loan this summer, is being described as holding the key to a future deal, with Jules Kounde mentioned as the link. Araujo's performances have clearly earned the club's attention, and a permanent move would set a benchmark price.

Taken together, the picture is of a manager still assembling a team while the first-choice version of it is unavailable.