Liverpool news: Szoboszlai blow, Frimpong out, Villarreal at Anfield

Liverpool host Villarreal at Anfield tonight seeking a third straight Champions League win, but the team sheet will not be a full one. The club confirmed Jeremie Frimpong and Dominik Szoboszlai are both unavailable, and the Echo reports as many as eight senior players could miss out.

Szoboszlai had only just come back from a two-game absence before pulling up in Saturday's 2-1 win at Brentford, and Iraola admitted the prognosis is 'going to be difficult', with Empire of the Kop reporting he could sit out at least six matches.

The upside is an opening for Trey Nyoni, whom Liverpool.com have billed as the natural antidote in midfield, and one of the few bright notes in an otherwise crowded physio room. Ronald Araujo, speaking at Monday's press conference, set the tone for the occasion: give everything from the first minute.

The Brentford win came at a cost. Szoboszlai, who had missed the previous two matches with an earlier problem, went off at the Gtech Community Stadium and is now facing a significant spell out, with Liverpool.com framing the situation as a 'major injury blow' for the head coach.

Frimpong is the second name in the same update, robbing Iraola of the right-sided cover he has leaned on. The club's official availability bulletin keeps the list updated, and with the Villarreal game arriving quickly, the medical staff are working to a tight timetable.

The encouraging part is the depth underneath: Nyoni has been waiting for exactly this kind of chance, and the weekend result showed the squad can absorb a setback. Still, losing both men in one afternoon is the sort of thing that bends a season if the next three weeks go badly.

Ibrahima Konaté left for Real Madrid as a free agent in the summer and was never replaced, a gap that is now coming into focus. With Virgil van Dijk and Joe Gomez both into the final year of their contracts, the Echo reports the club are ready to pay £42m for a new centre-back when the January window opens.

Ronald Araujo is part of that picture: he is on loan with a buy option, but Anfield Watch say the club are exploring a cheaper summer route, with Kalulu mentioned as a cheaper alternative.

Julian Ward is said to be willing to go to €50m for a wonderkid, and Fabrizio Romano has reportedly confirmed that a Liverpool target will 'for sure' make a move. The Van Dijk question is the one that matters most.

He is still the anchor of this side, and if his deal is not sorted, the January business becomes urgent rather than opportunistic.

Villarreal come to Anfield for the third time tonight, ten years after their first visit, and the club have dug out a memento from that 2016 night to mark it.

Araujo, who could be central to the evening, has been open about the adjustment from Barcelona and the surprise of playing right-back, and has spoken warmly about the support he has felt on Merseyside. His message was straightforward: start fast, and give everything from the first minute.

The numbers back up the need for that urgency, with the club's own pre-match pack noting that three wins from three would put Liverpool in a strong position in the league phase. Victor Munoz, meanwhile, has drawn praise from Iraola for his hunger and the speed of his adaptation since arriving.

It is a strange fixture in some ways, a club Liverpool have history with but have never fully put to bed, and the Kop will want a clean, controlled night rather than another episode.

Bradley Barcola is the player the supporters are trying to work out. He scored a hat-trick in the 6-3 win over LASK, then missed several clear chances at Brentford, and David Lynch told Anfield Index's Media Matters podcast he was 'encouraged' by the overall performance rather than the finishing.

That is the fair read: a winger who keeps arriving in the right spots is doing his job, and the goals usually follow. Three Premier League fixtures in December have been moved, and the club have unveiled the latest artist-edition Champions League programme cover for the Villarreal game.

Munoz's adaptation and the prospect of an African wonderkid edging towards the first team add to the sense of a squad being rebuilt on the fly. If Barcola's finishing catches up with his movement, that is a serious problem for opponents.