Cody Gakpo is an injury doubt for Liverpool’s match against Manchester City.
Cody Gakpo has been photographed with Liverpool’s players preparing for their match against Manchester City.
The attacker has missed the Reds’ past two games due of a knock received in the 2-2 draw at Everton in the Merseyside derby last week. Liverpool has not been very concerned about Gakpo’s situation. They have been keeping an eye on the Netherlands international, who has 16 goals in all competitions this season, as the Reds have the opportunity to jump 11 points ahead at the top of the table with a victory over City. Arsenal suffered a surprising 1-0 home defeat against West Ham United Wednesday.
During his pre-match press conference, head coach Arne Slot revealed that Gakpo could return to parts of training on Thursday, three days before the Etihad Stadium match. Slot stated, “I hope [he’s available], but I’m not 100% certain. He has yet to train with the team. Maybe he does anything today. I’m not sure exactly. “It will be a close call.”
Liverpool’s squad gathered at a Manchester hotel earlier before departing on the team van for the game against City. On TikTok, the account @csmemorabilia__ posted footage of Gakpo entering the hotel. That’s a nice indication for the Reds, but it’s unclear whether he’ll be named to the matchday squad or will be assessed further.
Liverpool will undoubtedly be missing Conor Bradley, Joe Gomez (both hamstring) and Tyler Morton (shoulder) due to injuries.
City challenge
City are the current Premier League champions, but they are set to relinquish their title. Pep Guardiola’s side has been woefully out of sorts this season, having won the previous top-flight titles. They are fourth and were eliminated from the Champions League earlier this week after a 6-3 aggregate loss to Real Madrid.
Still, Slot anticipates a difficult match, especially after City destroyed Newcastle United 4-0 at the Etihad Stadium last weekend. The Liverpool manager stated, “What I’ve always expected from City since Pep is there: a great football team that can play so well.” They’ve had one or two bad months in the last seven or eight years, possibly due to injury. Injuries return, they’ve signed three or four players, and I can see them returning now based on the result versus Newcastle.
“So what you expect is what everybody expects if you go to the Etihad if you play against City. You have to suffer as well and work really hard to keep them away from your goal because they are so, so good in ball possession. But they face a strong team as well that hasn’t lost for 22 games.”
