Iraola challenges the Anfield curse and confirms Liverpool star's absence from Brighton clash
Iraola praises Mac Allister and raises uncertainty over his future
Andoni Iraola, the Liverpool manager, turned his attention to Sunday's Anfield clash with Brighton in the eighth round of the Premier League.
Liverpool sit fifth with 12 points, nine behind leaders Manchester City and their perfect record. Brighton, meanwhile, are third on 16.
Would Rio Ngumoha start against Brighton? The winger had set up two goals in the thrilling 4-3 win over Villarreal in the Champions League, but Iraola refused to show his hand, pointing to the rotation policy he leans on.
Speaking to "Sky Sports", the manager said: "It is not just about Rio, it is about everyone, it depends on how we feel about their physical condition. We make a lot of changes to the line-up because we play every three or four days, so the players sometimes feel tired, or there is a greater risk, so we decide to rest some or bring in fresh blood."
The Spanish coach added: "This approach will continue in our match against Brighton, and against Chelsea, and so on, because the matches do not stop and we have to keep going. I am happy that we change the line-up a little and give the players some rest and they respond well."
On Ngumoha, he went on: "He finished the last Villarreal match tired, and that is normal. I want all the players to finish every match feeling exhausted because that means they have given everything they have, but in the attacking positions too, I usually substitute them all and they do not complete the match until the end."
Praise for Brighton followed, with Iraola stressing just how tough the test would be: "They are putting in an amazing performance and they deserve all the praise they are getting. It is a team that is very well coached, and this is their third season with Fabian Hurzeler, and they are very good in all phases of play."
"Without the ball, I consider them one of the best teams, and with the ball at their feet, they have high quality, and we have to be at our best to beat them because they are full of confidence," he explained. "But on the other hand, I see my team in a good position too, both teams will try to control the match, and we will try for our part to press and win the one-on-one duels, and that will be a big challenge."
Liverpool are still without a Premier League win at Anfield this season. Iraola brushed the concern aside, insisting points matter more than venue: "I want to win matches whether that is at home or away, we need points from anywhere we can collect them."
He went on: "It is true that we have not won at home in the league, but the other three matches we played at home were high-level matches against Villarreal, Atletico Madrid and Tottenham, we won them and performed well at home too. Now we play at home against Brighton, and we will also play at home in the next two matches, so I would really like to win them, but if we were playing away, I would say the same thing."
Alexis Mac Allister also earned special mention for the level he is hitting. Iraola called him: "One of the other leaders we have. He has great experience, and although he is still relatively young, he has played in matches at the highest level, and won major titles both at club and national team level, and he has been really good."
He continued: "I think he was the last to arrive alongside Victor Munoz, perhaps he arrived a little before him, but after two or three weeks he was in great technical shape and he is producing consistently steady performances. Sometimes we play well and then drop off in the next match, but Alex has now reached a stage where he produces good levels consistently, and I hope he can maintain this level because it will make things easier for us."
Iraola closed with an update on his squad's fitness ahead of Sunday: "Bradley Barcola trained normally today, he is fine and does not have any problems, it was just a matter of managing the extra physical load and sometimes they have to stay indoors."
On the rest of the injured players, he added: "Victor Munoz suffered a knock in the first half during the Brentford match, he managed to complete the match well but he has some pain, and his participation against Villarreal was very early, and I do not know whether he will be ready to make the Brighton match."
Dominik Szoboszlai, he revealed, will play no part: "Dominik will miss the weekend. I do not think his return date is far off, but he has not trained with the group yet, and given that we started him against Villarreal and had to substitute him, we will probably give him a day or two extra to recover compared to last week. Things are in a good position, Dominik is already training alone outside and will soon join the group training, but he is not ready for this match."
