Andoni Iraola confirms Liverpool injury blows ahead of Chelsea clash

Andoni Iraola confirms Liverpool injury blows ahead of Chelsea clash Liverpool Injury Update: Szoboszlai and Muñoz Doubts Ahead of Chelsea Carabao Cup Tie Liverpool head into their Carabao Cup meeting with Chelsea carrying familiar baggage, injuries. Andoni Iraola has spent much of this campaign patching things together, and this latest update offers little comfort before a last-16 tie that already looked demanding. The main concern is Dominik Szoboszlai. The midfielder has been dealing with a hamstring problem since the international break, returned briefly, then broke down again against Brentford after only half an hour. That usually tells you all you need to know. Hamstrings do not care about fixture lists. Victor Muñoz also looks doubtful. He has not played since suffering a knee injury, and Iraola did not sound optimistic. Jeremie Frimpong is out for several weeks with a muscle issue picked up in the same Brentford game, while Florian Wirtz has a better chance after a knock in the recent win over Brighton. Photo: IMAGO Iraola was clear enough. “We still have to wait,” he told reporters at his pre-match press conference. He added, “We train later. Florian (Wirtz) was quite fine and optimistic he would be available. With Dom (Szoboszlai) and Victor (Munoz), I’m not so sure. I don’t want to say no, but I think it’s more difficult than Florian.” That leaves Liverpool short of options in a game where control and physical sharpness will matter. Chelsea have injury issues of their own, with João Pedro and Reece James expected to miss out, but that offers only limited consolation. Cup ties rarely care about sympathy. Iraola also expects a demanding tactical battle against Chelsea head coach Xabi Alonso. “Nowadays all the teams are quite intense, not just sitting in a block. They want to press, and there won’t be many spaces.” That sounds right. Expect a game played at speed, with little room for error and even less room to breathe.