Forget Koumas: Iraola Must Unleash Barcola in Liverpool Striker Role

· GiveMeSport

Liverpool are without the injured Alexander Isak when they host Manchester City on Sunday

Liverpool manager Andoni Iraola confirmed a major injury blow in his pre-match press conference on Friday afternoon, with the news that both Alexander Isak and Cody Gakpo have been ruled out of Sunday's big Premier League clash with Manchester City.

Iraola would have been determined to continue his unbeaten start to his Liverpool managerial reign anyway, but there is no doubt that the game has taken on extra significance given it is the first game for City since they were found guilty of all 115 charges, in relation to breaches of the Premier League's financial rules.

The Spaniard would have been hoping to have a fully-fit squad available for the visit of Enzo Maresca's side, but instead he will be without both Isak and Gakpo after they picked up issues while away on international duty with Sweden and the Netherlands respectively.

Neither injury is expected to keep the duo out for long, but they will be absent on Sunday, which gives Iraola a conundrum for the centre-forward position.

With Hugo Ekitike recovering from rupturing his ACL earlier in the year, Iraola has no recognised centre-forward option, and he must decide how he is going to play it against City.

The former Bournemouth boss talked up Lewis Koumas, who started and impressed in the position against Tottenham Hotspur in the EFL Cup last month, in his press conference.

> For number nine, we probably only have Koumas right now but we have some other options. > > “We have wingers who have played up front in other teams and I think we will put out an 11 with a level enough to compete. > > “Koumas has our trust. I don’t think it’s a big surprise, I always liked the player and he has already shown in important minutes that he has ready to go and we also have other players who can go in those positions.”

While Iraola did praise Koumas, it would be a big ask to start him in such a big game against Man City, and the Spaniard more than hinted there that he could use a winger there instead.

With no Gakpo available, the most likely candidates would be Victor Munoz or Bradley Barcola, and he should unleash the latter through the middle.

The £123m France international is clearly a top player given his impact for Paris Saint-Germain and France in recent years, and he is used to playing in big, high-pressure matches.

But he is also in need of a confidence boost this term, it would appear.

Bradley Barcola in 2026-27 Season (Liverpool and France)

- Appearances 9 - Starts 5 - Goals 0 - Assists 0

The 24-year-old has now gone nine games for club and country without a goal or assist this term, but he has shown, including at the 2026 World Cup when he scored three times, that he can be a clinical finisher in the penalty area.

Using Barcola in the centre wouldn't take anything away from on the wings either, given Iraola has Munoz and Rio Ngumoha at his disposal, with both players champing at the bit to play regularly.

The added bonus of the Frenchman is his speed, with the Premier League revealing last month that he had clocked the quickest sprint speed (35.93 km/h) of the season.

Barcola clearly has the attributes in his locker to really hurt a City defence that could be more fragile than usual on Sunday, given we saw Nico O'Reilly and Marc Guehi both make uncharacteristic mistakes for England against Spain days after the verdict.

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