Andoni Iraola enters Sunday's Anfield showdown against Manchester City carrying a significant set of problems, with injuries, tactical puzzles, and the question of Florian Wirtz's form all demanding answers before kick-off at 4.30pm.

Injury blow ahead of a crucial game

The international break could not have come at a worse time for Iraola. Alexander Isak (thigh), Cody Gakpo (ankle), and Jeremy Jacquet (hamstring) all returned early to the AXA Training Centre with knocks, leaving the Liverpool head coach short of options in both defence and attack.

"Alex Isak and Cody Gakpo both have had to leave the national teams with injuries," Iraola told beIN SPORTS. "Now it's a matter of if they are going to recover in time to help us in the next game or not. But right now, they are both injured."

Should Isak be ruled out, Lewis Koumas, 21, is the most likely candidate to step in at centre-forward, with Hugo Ekitike still months away from recovering from a ruptured Achilles. At the back, Joe Gomez could earn a rare start, with Ronald Araujo shifting to partner Virgil van Dijk — or vice versa — while Jeremie Frimpong may be handed the right-back berth.

The Wirtz dilemma

The £116m signing of Florian Wirtz remains the most talked-about subplot of Liverpool's early season. His performance in the defeat at Bournemouth just before the break drew sharp criticism, most notably from Jamie Carragher on his own podcast.

"That was one of the poorest I've ever seen him in a Liverpool shirt," Carragher said. "I thought this Bournemouth game was a big game for Wirtz. He has to do something!"

With Gakpo and Isak both doubts, Iraola will almost certainly need Wirtz — alongside fellow £100m attacker Bradley Barcola — to deliver against City. Sky Sports News reporter Mark McAdam, however, remains confident that the German will come good under Iraola's guidance.

"Liverpool beat off Bayern Munich and Man City to sign Wirtz — he was probably one of the most coveted No 10s in world football at the time," McAdam said on the Sky Sports Premier League podcast. "He does not become a bad No 10 overnight. I'm convinced Iraola will have everything within what they do to find the best in him."

Midfield balance still a work in progress

Iraola has settled on a two-man midfield partnership of Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai, leaving Ryan Gravenberch — so influential under predecessor Arne Slot — on the outside looking in. The approach has produced results: Liverpool have kept three consecutive clean sheets in the Premier League after conceding twice in each of their first two league outings at Newcastle United and at home to Nottingham Forest.

"He is still trying to strive for that ideal balance in that Liverpool midfield at times," Sky Sports News reporter Vinny O'Connor said on the Sky Sports Premier League podcast. "But with those three clean sheets, we are seeing a team that defends the box a lot better and when they get the ball, they get it forward a lot quicker."

Liverpool's work rate offers further evidence the squad is buying into Iraola's methods — the Reds lead the Premier League with 636 sprints recorded across their opening five games.

A demanding run of fixtures looms

Sunday's game against Manchester City is only the beginning of a gruelling stretch. Over the following three weeks, Liverpool face seven matches across three competitions, including trips to Brentford and home clashes with Brighton & Hove Albion, Arsenal, and Chelsea in the League Cup — all in quick succession.

"We have to get ready because the schedule that we have now, it's very difficult," Iraola said. "We are playing against top-four teams and then in between Champions League and then Chelsea in the Carabao Cup — everything in two, three days. This next month is going to be very demanding for us."

A goalless draw with Fulham — secured just three days after an energy-sapping Champions League win over Atletico Madrid — offered a warning of the toll such a schedule can take.

Making history, but the real test starts now

Iraola has made an unbeaten start to his Liverpool tenure, becoming the first manager not to lose any of his opening five league games in charge of the club since Joe Fagan in September 1983. Yet those five fixtures were relatively kind, and Sunday's visit from the league leaders represents a genuine step up in quality — one that will tell supporters and observers far more about what to expect from Liverpool under their new head coach.