Victor Munoz will replace Bradley Barcola in the Liverpool starting lineup when they host Fulham at Anfield on Saturday.
Liverpool will aim to continue the unbeaten start to the 2026/27 season when they welcome Fulham to Anfield on Saturday afternoon. Andoni Iraola has no new injury concerns to worry about ahead of his side’s latest fixture.
Iraola has been sweating over the fitness of Milos Kerkez and Bradley Barcola after they were forced off the pitch in the UEFA Champions League clash with Atletico Madrid earlier this week. However, the duo should be fit and available to take on Fulham, with Joe Gomez also in contention to feature.
However, Cody Gakpo’s availability remains uncertain after he missed out against Atletico Madrid, while Giovanni Leoni (ACL), Conor Bradley (knee), and Hugo Ekitike (Achilles) are long-term absentees. Meanwhile, during his pre-match press conference, Iraola provided fitness updates on several players.
The Liverpool head coach said, “We still need to train [on Friday]. We train this afternoon, evening. But, yes, Barcola was just cramps. Obviously he finished tight in the game and then we have to evaluate with how are things today – but there’s no injury. He should be available if everything goes normal.”
“[With] Cody, we will see. He didn’t train yesterday. Today, we will try with him and let’s see if he’s ready for tomorrow or we need to wait for the next one. I think it’s difficult with these long-term injuries, I think he [Ekitike] is still far [away]. But we had a meeting with the medical department to analyse when we completed the [squad] list for the European games.”
“There is a reasonable chance that he could help us in the last two games of the group stages. But it’s still very early to say. It’s very early because it’s a long-term injury [and] a big part of the rehab [he] is still to meet. But if we decide to put him there, it is because there is a hope and there is a realistic chance that he could help us in January.”
Alisson Becker is an automatic pick between the sticks, with Liverpool lining up in a 4-2-3-1 formation in front of him against Fulham on Saturday. The backline will feature Ronald Araujo, Jeremy Jacquet, Virgil van Dijk, Kostas Tsimikas, with Kerkez getting some rest.
As for the midfield unit, there is no looking past Dominik Szoboszlai and Alexis Mac Allister in the double pivot, with Florian Wirtz reprising the no. 10 role. Finally, Alexander Isak will lead the line for the home side, with Rio Ngumoha and Victor Munoz being the two wide attackers. So, Barcola will be a backup option on the bench for the Reds.
Predicted Liverpool XI: Alisson; Araujo, Jacquet, van Dijk, Tsimikas; Mac Allister, Szoboszlai; Munoz, Wirtz, Ngumoha; Isak
