Gakpo's fitness is the big question

Liverpool head into Saturday's Premier League fixture against Fulham in decent nick, a 2-1 Champions League victory over Atletico Madrid on Wednesday night, courtesy of goals from Dominik Szoboszlai and Alexis Mac Allister, will do wonders for confidence. But Andoni Iraola has a few selection headaches to work through before kick-off, with Cody Gakpo the most pressing concern.

The forward sat out the midweek win and hasn't yet trained with the group heading into the weekend. Iraola was measured but cautious when asked about his availability. "Cody we will see. He didn't train yesterday," the manager said. "Today we will try with him and let's see if he's ready for tomorrow or we need to wait for the next one." A late fitness test is the plan, and Liverpool supporters will be keeping a close eye on how that goes.

The longer list of absentees

If Gakpo doesn't make it, he'll join a frustratingly long list of players sitting this one out. Joe Gomez has been absent since a pre-season injury and, while he's edging closer to a return, this weekend is likely to come too soon for the defender. Federico Chiesa is another who won't feature, a muscle problem picked up late in pre-season has kept him out, and there's still no clarity on when he'll be back in contention.

Beyond that trio, three players are in the longer-term rehabilitation category: Giovani Leoni, Conor Bradley and Hugo Ekitike all remain sidelined. That's potentially eight players unavailable in total, which is a significant stretch on the squad, though the core of Iraola's first-team picture has remained largely intact through the opening weeks of the season.

There is at least one piece of positive news on the fitness front. Summer signing Bradley Barcola came off during the Atletico win with cramp, which raised a few eyebrows at the time, but Iraola was relaxed about it. "Barcola was just cramps," he confirmed. "We have to evaluate how he is today, but there's no injury. He should, I think, be available, if everything goes normal." That's a relief, the last thing Liverpool need is another name added to the treatment room list.

Fulham arrive with something to prove

Fulham, by contrast, travel to Anfield relatively light on injury concerns. Club captain Tom Cairney remains out as he continues to recover from a minor knee procedure last month, and young striker Jonah Kusi-Asare has yet to feature in any matchday squad this season following his own knee troubles. Two absentees compared to Liverpool's potential eight, Alvaro Arbeloa won't be complaining about his options.

What Arbeloa will be contending with, though, is a side that has lost all three of its Premier League fixtures so far under his management. The Cottagers haven't yet found their footing, which makes Anfield an unwelcome venue at this particular moment. The new Fulham manager was generous in his praise of Iraola ahead of the match, drawing on a shared history from their playing days in the Spanish national team. "I know him very, very well," Arbeloa said. "I saw him when he was the coach of Mirandés, Rayo Vallecano, and after in Bournemouth, so I know that he's an amazing coach, and I'm not surprised that now he's the coach of Liverpool. He has been doing amazing work here in the Premier League... and of course it will be so difficult for us tomorrow."

Liverpool, having won one and drawn two in the league so far, need a result every bit as much as their visitors do. Saturday's 3pm kick-off could be the moment one of them properly gets their season moving.