Liverpool head coach Andoni Iraola is hopeful that Florian Wirtz will be available for Wednesday night’s Carabao Cup fourth-round meeting with Chelsea, but has admitted that Dominik Szoboszlai and Víctor Muñoz face a tougher battle to be involved.
The Reds welcome Xabi Alonso’s Chelsea to Anfield for an 8pm kick-off, with Iraola preparing to make changes to his side following Sunday’s 2-0 Premier League victory over Brighton.
Wirtz emerged as an injury concern after twisting his ankle against the Seagulls, forcing him off during the second half. However, the initial signs were encouraging, with both the German international and his manager playing down fears of a serious problem after the match.
Speaking at Tuesday’s pre-match press conference, Iraola suggested that Wirtz had a reasonable chance of being involved, although Liverpool’s final training session would help determine his availability.
“We still have to wait, we train later. We want to [use] this last day,” he explained.
“He was quite fine, Florian – I’m quite optimistic that he will be available.”
It was a less encouraging assessment when the Liverpool boss was asked about Szoboszlai and Muñoz.
“And with Dom and Victor, I’m not so sure. I don’t want to say no, but I think it’s going to be more difficult than Florian, yes.”
Szoboszlai has been working his way back from a recurring hamstring problem which forced him off during Liverpool’s victory at Brentford earlier this month. He subsequently missed the games against Villarreal and Brighton.
Iraola had indicated before Sunday’s match that the Hungarian was approaching a return to group training, but Liverpool have been particularly cautious following his previous setback.
Muñoz, meanwhile, has been troubled by a knee problem sustained against Brentford. He played on until the 79th minute before being replaced by Joe Gomez and has not featured since.
Their continued absence would leave Liverpool short of options at a time when Iraola is attempting to manage an increasingly demanding fixture schedule.
Jeremie Frimpong, Conor Bradley, Hugo Ekitiké and Giovanni Leoni are also unavailable, further restricting the manager’s room for manoeuvre.
Liverpool have already had to make adjustments to accommodate their injury problems, particularly on the right side of defence, while the workload on several senior players remains a consideration.
Iraola has made no secret of his willingness to rotate his squad, and further changes are expected against Chelsea.
“There will definitely be changes. But we want to win the game, we want to be competitive,” he said.
“We need to see how the legs are.”
The Liverpool boss explained that rotation has become almost unavoidable across both domestic and European competitions, although he rejected any suggestion that the Carabao Cup would be treated as a lesser priority.
“We want to be in the next round. We’ve been unlucky in the draw, we are playing Chelsea. They have been unlucky also.
“But we want to earn the right to be in the draw again and that only happens if you win.”
The timing of Wednesday’s fixture presents another challenge.
Liverpool face Arsenal in the Premier League at Anfield on Sunday before travelling to Turkey to meet Fenerbahçe in the Champions League next Wednesday.
Those commitments will inevitably influence Iraola’s thinking, particularly over players carrying knocks or returning from injury.
Wirtz’s apparent progress will be welcome news, but even if he is passed fit, there is no guarantee that the Germany international will start against Chelsea.
The 23-year-old has been an increasingly influential figure in Liverpool’s attacking play, and Iraola will be mindful of the consequences of asking him to play through an ankle problem when another important league fixture is only four days away.
For Szoboszlai and Muñoz, Wednesday appears a more difficult proposition, although Iraola has stopped short of ruling either player out entirely.
Liverpool will therefore head into the cup tie with several selection questions unresolved, and the manager must find a way to keep his side competitive without taking unnecessary risks with a squad already stretched by injuries.
