Facing a packed schedule, Iraola urged players to be ready to play at any time.

The 2026/27 Premier League season will enter its seventh round of competition, with Liverpool traveling to face Brentford. Manager Andoni Iraola stated that due to the Reds' increasingly congested schedule, all players must be ready to play at any time.

In the sixth round of the Premier League, Liverpool, after Hrafinbech received a red card, conceded several goals and ultimately suffered a humiliating 0-3 defeat at home to Manchester City. Currently, Liverpool sits in 9th place in the standings with 9 points.

However, in the earlier UEFA Champions League match, Liverpool defeated LASK Linz 6-3 thanks to goals from Araujo, Barkola, Frimpong, and Lewis Koumas. It's worth noting that Liverpool fielded a starting lineup including Ngumoha, Tre Nione, and Jeremy Jacquet in that game.

Faced with such a packed schedule, Liverpool manager Andoni Iraola said, "Especially at this stage, we are basically playing a game every three days, and sometimes the interval between two games is less than three days, so we need more players to step up."

“That’s why we made some changes to the lineup in the last game, and we need to rotate again this time. We also need to make adjustments in the Champions League match against Villarreal in three days. We need every player, and everyone could be called up at some point. Everyone has to be ready because we may need them at any time.”

Regarding whether the previously injured Gakopo, Isak, and Szoboszlai will be able to participate in this match, Andoni Iraola said, "We still need to observe further, and it's too early to draw conclusions. However, since I said before that they couldn't participate in the previous matches, I don't rule out the possibility of their return this time."

In addition, when discussing the progress of defender Giovanni Leoni's recovery, Andoni Iraola said, "His recovery has taken longer than we expected. The original plan was for him to train with the team during the last international break, but now it seems that we may have to wait until the next international break. This means that the entire recovery process is a month later than originally planned."

"His injury is not just a torn anterior cruciate ligament, but a rather serious one. In addition to the anterior cruciate ligament, there are multiple other injuries around the knee joint. He must have full confidence in his physical condition, and his rehabilitation process must be handled with extreme care. We hope to ensure that he is in good physical condition when he returns to the team."

Andoni Iraola also stated, "The current plan is for him to start training with the team during the next international break, which is not too far off, but it is indeed a bit later than we originally expected."

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