Liverpool coach Andoni Iraola said on Friday that his team will play Sunday's decisive match against leaders Manchester City in the English Premier League at Anfield without Alexander Isak and Cody Khakpo.
The two players returned from the international break with injuries, after Khakpo suffered an ankle injury during his participation in the Netherlands match against Serbia, while Isaac suffered a thigh injury that Iraola described as “minor” while participating with Sweden against Romania.
Isaac's absence is a major blow to Liverpool, especially after the striker finally regained his level, scoring 4 goals in his first 5 league matches.
Iraola said: “Alex Isaac and Cody Khakpo will not participate in the match, as they are not ready, and both of them suffered injuries during the international break.”
It is not believed that either injury will be long-term, as Khakpo's readiness depends on his ability to tolerate pain, while the club monitors the players' condition day by day.
Their absence may open the door for Welsh striker Louis Comas (21 years old) to lead the attack against Manchester City.
“Comas has our trust,” Iraola said. “I don’t think this is a big surprise, as I have always admired him, and he has already shown in the crucial minutes that he is ready to play, and we have other players who can fill these positions.”
Iraola pointed out that the series of difficult matches awaiting the team before the next international break in November will constitute an important test of Liverpool’s capabilities.
The Spanish coach said: “I think that the series of matches that we are playing now (with the resumption of the league and Champions League competitions) requires a lot, and it is also very intense. “So I think it will reveal a lot about our capabilities.” He added: “I think that after this series of matches, we will really know our level.”
Manchester City leads the standings as the only team to have achieved a perfect record after 5 matches, while Liverpool trails them by 6 points in sixth place, with two wins and three draws.
The competition between the two teams alone is enough to make Sunday's match a huge event, but the spotlight will be more focused on Anfield. Where City is playing for the first time since an independent committee found it guilty of more than 100 violations of the English Premier League’s financial rules.
A social media post promoting a “bus salute” urged Liverpool fans to gather near the stadium several hours before kick-off, carrying flags, banners, fireworks and torches.
Iraola said about the case: “I think that the state of uncertainty is not in the interest of any party, nor of anyone involved in the matter, but the procedures are still underway, and we must be patient like everyone and wait for what will happen in the end.”
Manchester City denied any wrongdoing and is appealing the ruling.
Belgian Elise Mertens continued her remarkable career in the Beijing 1000 Points Tennis Tournament, by eliminating Polish Iga Swiwontek, formerly ranked first in the world and currently ninth, on Friday in the quarter-finals, two days after her victory over American Coco Gauff, fourth.
Mertens, ranked 19th in the world, decided the confrontation 7-6 (0-7) and 6-3 against Cheviontek, who won the 2023 edition title, and who wasted a valuable opportunity to close the gap with her competitors in the qualifying race for the season-ending Masters Championship (WTA), scheduled in Indian Wells between November 8 and 15.
The 30-year-old player, who is from the city of Leuven, will participate on Saturday in the semi-finals of the singles competition, where she will face the Chinese Geng Chenwen (54th in the world), and the doubles alongside the Russian Diana Schneider.
Mertens has not reached the semi-finals of one of the 1000 Points tournaments, the highest-ranking tournament on the WTA calendar after the four major tournaments, since the Dubai tournament in 2021.
The Belgian previously ranked 12th in the world in November 2018, and won ten singles titles in the WTA tournaments. She has now achieved three consecutive victories over players ranked in the top ten, after she ousted Kazakh Elena Rybakina, currently ranked first in the world, at Wimbledon, then Gauff in Beijing.
On the other hand, Shevuntek was unable to benefit from the exit of her Ukrainian rivals, seventh-seeded Elina Svitolina, and eighth-seeded Czech Karolina Muchova, from the quarter-finals.
The Polish woman occupies tenth place in the Rice classification, which determines the eight players who qualify for the final Masters tournament, and she will be required to score a large number of points in the Wuhan 1,000-point tournament between October 12 and 18, then the Ningbo 500-point tournament between October 19 and 25, and Tokyo between October 26 and November 1, to ensure participation in the tournament, which has not missed any of its last five editions.
The first semi-final match scheduled for Saturday will bring together Russian Mira Andreeva, ranked fifth in the world, with Czech Nikola Bartonkova, the surprise of the tournament and ranked 34th in the world.
Dutchman Max Verstappen, the four-time world champion in Formula 1 car racing, won the first starting position for the speed race scheduled to be held on Saturday, as part of the Singapore Grand Prix, scheduled to be held on Sunday.
The Red Bull driver only did one fast lap, instead of the usual two laps, and recorded the fastest lap time, at one minute and 31.156 seconds, beating George Russell, the Mercedes driver, by 0.120 seconds.
Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc, who was temporarily in first place at the start, came in third place, 0.243 seconds behind Verstappen.
McLaren driver Lando Norris, the world champion, came in fifth place, while Mercedes driver Kimi Antonelli, the current driver's class leader, came in seventh place.
Verstappen enters the race in Singapore supported by his first victory this season in the Bahrain Grand Prix, which was held in Malaysia, last week. It also witnessed Red Bull achieving its first victory as a power unit manufacturer.
Qualifications were stopped 6 minutes before the end of the first part of the qualifiers, after the car of Sergio Perez, driver of the Cadillac team, collided with the wall, which required the intervention of the stewards to remove the debris.
The second period started about 15 minutes late due to a problem with the timing system, as a result of the times of some laps not being recorded.
Antonelli leads the drivers' class standings by 84 points ahead of his teammate Russell, with 7 races remaining until the end of the season.
The speed race will be held on Saturday, followed by the official trial for the Sunday race.
