Andoni Iraola has asked for patience with Rio Ngumoha, saying it wouldn’t be fair to pile expectation on the teenager. His comments come from the embargoed section of Friday’s pre-Brighton press conference, released overnight.
Storm Boelo reaches Merseyside today, but there’s been no word from the club or the Premier League, so as things stand Sunday’s game at Anfield goes ahead. Dominik Szoboszlai misses out, Victor Muñoz is a doubt, and the Ronald Araújo talk has resurfaced.
Iraola on Ngumoha
Iraola was full of praise for the way Ngumoha has developed. “Rio is very coachable. He pays attention, he listens to every information we give,” he said. “We haven’t done anything super special with him… he is the one adding a lot to his game.”
“Definitely I feel lucky to have him,” Iraola added, but he warned against expecting too much too soon: “He will have his moments up and down… So we cannot straight away put the demands in Rio that are impossible to beat.” Raising the expectation “straight away super high”, he said, is “not fair for him”.
Talks over a new contract are ongoing, according to the BBC and The Athletic. Ngumoha’s current deal runs to 2028.
Storm Boelo: game on as things stand
Merseyside is under a Met Office yellow wind warning from midday today until 9pm on Sunday, with gusts of 55-65mph expected widely. The amber warning, which starts at 9pm tonight, covers much of Scotland, parts of Northern Ireland, Cumbria and Northumberland, and gusts of 70-80mph are possible in the most exposed spots.
There’s been no statement from Liverpool or the Premier League overnight, so as things stand the game kicks off at 2pm on Sunday. Any decision would involve the local Safety Advisory Group, so check for updates before you set off, especially if you’re relying on public transport.
Team news
Szoboszlai misses the game with his thigh problem, and Muñoz is a doubt after the knock he took at Brentford. Bradley Barcola is fine. Conor Bradley, Hugo Ekitiké, Jeremie Frimpong and Giovanni Leoni are all still out, and the club’s injury list is unchanged overnight.
Iraola also called Alexis Mac Allister “another of the kind of leaders we have” and said the midfielder “has been consistently playing well”. Sam Barrott is the referee on Sunday, with Michael Oliver on VAR.
Brighton at Anfield: the numbers
According to the club’s pre-match stats, Liverpool have lost only one of their last 13 home games against Brighton in all competitions (W9 D3) and have won the last four at Anfield. The only home league defeat in nine against them was 1-0 in February 2021.
Brighton arrive third, four points ahead of Liverpool, having won their last four Premier League games by an aggregate score of 15-0. Sunday also marks six months since Liverpool’s last league win at Anfield.
Alexander Isak has scored five goals in his last five Premier League games. Florian Wirtz has created more chances than anyone in the league (20), and seven of his eight Liverpool goals have come at Anfield.
Transfers
Ronald Araújo: Marca reports that Liverpool are prepared to take up the €55 million (£46m) option to make the Barcelona defender’s loan permanent next summer if he keeps up his form, and the BBC’s gossip column picked the story up overnight. Fabrizio Romano, aka Rent-a-Tweet, says Liverpool won’t make that call until 2027, not in December or January. Araújo himself said: “It’s very early to talk about these things.” Credibility: Medium.
There’s nothing new overnight on David Otorbi, whose Valencia release clause has reportedly been doubled to €60 million after Liverpool interest. Credibility: High on the renewal, Low to Medium on Liverpool’s move. There’s also nothing new on Felix Nmecha, where Sky Germany reported exploratory contact with the Borussia Dortmund midfielder’s representatives. Credibility: Medium. Galatasaray’s Aleksey Batrakov remains a Low.
Nothing on Liverpool overnight from the likes of David Ornstein and Paul Joyce. There are no credible ownership, FSG, investment, sporting-director or staffing developments.
Elsewhere
There’s still no word on the result of Bukayo Saka’s latest scan. The BBC reports that Arsenal fear he will be out for at least six weeks, and the Daily Mail says it could be as many as eight. He misses today’s game against Everton, eight days before Arsenal visit Anfield.
The family of Emlyn Hughes, Liverpool’s first European Cup-winning captain, are selling his collection of memorabilia at auction in November, as reported by the BBC and The Athletic.
Fixtures (UK times)
Sunday 25 October: Liverpool v Brighton, Premier League, 2pm (Sky Sports)
Wednesday 28 October: Liverpool v Chelsea, Carabao Cup fourth round, 8pm (Sky Sports and ITV)
Sunday 1 November: Liverpool v Arsenal, Premier League, 4.30pm (Sky Sports)
Wednesday 4 November: Fenerbahçe v Liverpool, Champions League, 5.45pm
The clocks go back an hour early on Sunday morning, so all kick-off times above are GMT.
Photo: Jose Hernandez/Anadolu via Getty Images
