Andoni Iraola: Liverpool manager Andoni Iraola asked his players and club to be ready for the gruelling fixtures coming up as the club's football resumes following an international break.
Liverpool will be taking on Premier League leaders Manchester City in their sixth match of the English top-flight season and have nine matches coming up in 28 days across the competitions.
The Reds have major injury absentees in Alexander Isak and Cody Gakpo, both of whom picked up their issues during the international break and are unavailable for the City game at Anfield.
"Of course, first we will have to see how everyone is after the international break. It is well known that we picked up a couple of fitness issues that we could have done without during that period, but by the time this game kicks off we will be as ready as we can be," Iraola wrote in his programme notes for Liverpool.
"This is a period in general in which all of us have to be ready because there are a lot of games in a short space of time. This means being ready to train, ready to recover and ready to play. There is no alternative, so it makes sense that we face into it being aware of what lies ahead and prepared to embrace it," he added.
Iraola emphasised the upcoming clash against City, which will be his first against City as the Reds manager. "This is my first involvement in this fixture but, like everyone who is interested in football, I know exactly what it means both in terms of the quality of the two teams and the rivalry that has built up over the years.
"We are playing against a City side which is top of the league having won all of the games they have played so far this season. So it is a very big challenge but it is also one that gives us an opportunity to test ourselves against a team which is doing so well and see where we are," he further wrote.
Liverpool, currently seventh in the Premier League, face some higher-ranked teams in their stretch of matches and the manager has confidence that they are playing most of these games at home. "If you look at the table, our next four fixtures – including today’s – are against the teams who currently make up the top four in the Premier League and we have games in the Champions League and a Carabao Cup tie with Chelsea in between so, as I have said and will continue to repeat, we need to be ready.
"We are playing against a City side which is top of the league having won all of the games they have played so far this season. So it is a very big challenge but it is also one that gives us an opportunity to test ourselves against a team which is doing so well and see where we are," he further wrote.
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Article Source: IANS