Andoni Iraola is braced for another anxious wait over Cody Gakpo as Liverpool prepare to welcome Alvaro Arbeloa back to Anfield in the Premier League this weekend.
The Dutch forward missed Wednesday night’s win over Atletico Madrid with what Iraola described as “adductor issues”, and his involvement against Fulham is still hanging in the balance.
Gakpo a doubt, Barcola cleared
Gakpo sat out the 2-1 victory over Atletico at Anfield, and Liverpool’s head coach made it clear he will push the decision on his attacker as late as possible.
“[With] Cody, we will see. He didn't train yesterday,” Iraola said at his pre-match press conference. “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.”
The news is brighter on Bradley Barcola. The winger, who impressed on his full debut in midweek before being forced off in the second half, is expected to be available.
“Yes, Barcola was just cramps,” Iraola confirmed. “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.”
Liverpool will train again on Friday afternoon and evening before Iraola finalises his squad.
Gomez close, Chiesa progressing
Joe Gomez is edging towards a return after a muscle problem picked up in pre-season, offering Iraola another defensive option as the schedule begins to tighten. Federico Chiesa is also continuing his recovery, though he is not yet back in full contention.
There is no such short-term optimism for the long-term absentees. Conor Bradley, Hugo Ekitike and Giovanni Leoni remain sidelined, with Ekitike’s situation still the most complex after his ruptured Achilles tendon.
Iraola, though, has not ruled out a meaningful contribution from the Frenchman later in the club’s European campaign.
“I think it's difficult with these long-term injuries, I think he's still far [away],” he admitted. “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.”
The calculation is clear: if Liverpool carry Ekitike in their European squad, it will be because they genuinely believe he can influence the group’s decisive moments.
Arbeloa’s Anfield return
On the opposite bench, Arbeloa arrives at Anfield searching for his first Premier League points as Fulham head coach, but with a deep personal connection to the stadium he is walking back into.
The former Spain international made 98 appearances for Liverpool between 2007 and 2009 and has already felt the emotion of a return as a Real Madrid player. This, though, is different.
“It will be so special,” he said. “I went back when I was a Real Madrid player but now it's my first time as a coach. Anfield will always be a special place for me.”
“We have a massive game for us and we have been working really hard this week. We know that we have to improve and we need to adjust some parts of our game.”
Fulham travel north with a relatively clean bill of health. Tom Cairney, sidelined by a knee injury, is set to be their only confirmed absentee.
“We have to wait until the last training session,” Arbeloa added. “But just Tom [is currently out injured] and we will see after the training session if everyone is ready.”
Form lines and fine margins
Liverpool come into the contest on the back of that hard-fought 2-1 win over Atletico on September 9, a night when Alisson, Araujo, Jacquet, Virgil van Dijk, Kerkez, Dominik Szoboszlai, Alexis Mac Allister, Barcola, Florian Wirtz, Ngumoha and Alexander Isak all started and eventually did enough to edge a tense European tie.
Fulham, by contrast, are still licking their wounds from a 3-2 home defeat to Crystal Palace on September 5. Bernd Leno, Timothy Castagne, Joachim Andersen, Calvin Bassey, Antonee Robinson, Charles, Alex Iwobi, Bobb, King, Palacios and Garcia were unable to prevent a late collapse that has left Arbeloa chasing his first league points in charge of the Cottagers.
Anfield will greet one of its former full-backs with warmth. It will not show the same generosity to his team. For Arbeloa, sentiment stops at the touchline; the search for that first Premier League point now runs straight through the place that once felt like home.
