Liverpool could be without 5 players for Man City game due to injury crisis

Liverpool could be without five players when Manchester City visits Anfield in the Premier League this weekend, but one of them is at least in contention to return

Joe Gomez could return against City(Image: 2026 Getty Images)

Arne Slot didn't have too much good news on the injury front ahead of Liverpool's game against Manchester City this weekend, with no guarantees that any of the players who are currently out injured will return in time for Sunday's showdown.

The only shred of encouragement that Slot provided was that Joe Gomez is in contention to return to the squad – although the defender is yet to return to training after coming off injured against Bournemouth nearly two weeks ago.

Jeremie Frimpong – who has had a torrid time with injuries since returning to England – remains sidelined, as do long-term absentees Alexander Isak, Giovanni Leoni and Conor Bradley.

"Jeremie will definitely not train this week so won't play this weekend," Slot said during a press conference on Thursday.

"Joe, we have a little bit of hope that he might train on Saturday. He won't be available to start but may be available to help the team if needed during the game, because there are not that many defenders available at the moment."

There is a good chance that defenders Bradley and Leoni will both miss the remainder of the season with their respective knee injuries, while Isak is still some way away from returning.

Slot's most recent update on Isak's recovery from a broken leg came last week, when he said: "He (Isak) is not even on the pitch yet.

Arne Slot provided injury updates in a press conferrence(Image: LFC)

"I think it's called a walker, he's just out of his walker (walking aid), so that tells you that he's not on the pitch and not expecting him on the pitch today or tomorrow in terms of his recovery work. That's going to take a while before he's back, as we knew."

Previewing the game against City, Slot said that his players will need to deliver a much better performance than they put in during the reverse fixture at the Etihad Stadium earlier in the season, when City ended up winning 3-1.

"We were completely outplayed when we played them in the first half earlier in the season – for large parts, not the complete 45 minutes," Slot said.

"It (Sunday's game) is another moment to see where we are with the development of this team. That being said, we know the importance of the result on Sunday, but that goes for all the 20 teams that are playing in the Premier League this weekend.

"It's the end phase of the season, so results matter more and more."