Liverpool manager Andoni Iraola says he has “100% trust” in forwards Bradley Barcola and Florian Wirtz despite their slow starts to the season.
The Reds were soundly beaten by Manchester City at Anfield on Sunday and take on LASK in the Champions League on Wednesday.
Liverpool spent around £220m on Wirtz and Barcola but are yet to see much return on their investment.
Wirtz has scored five Premier League goals in 15 months – with none so far this season – and came under criticism from Jamie Carragher earlier this season, while Barcola is yet to find the net for the Reds.
“Bradley and Florian, they’ve had good games, bad games this season but we know their level and we are sure they’ll give us good performances,” Iraola said.
“The responsibilities are the same as other senior players in the squad. The performances are exactly the same. Sometimes we have to focus not just on the numbers.
“I was happy with a lot of things the other day with Bradley. We had good situations, we didn’t finish them. But him and Florian are players I trust 100%.”
Iraola confirmed that key trio Alexander Isak, Cody Gakpo and Dominik Szoboszlai all remain injured but are “not far” from being able to return to the side.
“We don’t have a lot of time to train, we have to prepare with some videos, tactics and the ball outside a little, but we have to prioritise the freshness of the players,” he said.
Liverpool beat LASK twice in the Europa League three years ago, while the last Austrian team to beat an English opponent in major European competition was Austria Vienna against Arsenal in October 1991.
Where to Watch LASK Linz v Liverpool: TV and online streams
LASK Linz v Liverpool kicks off at 5:45pm BST (6:45pm local time) on Wednesday, October 14 at the Raiffeisen Arena in Linz.
The match is live on TNT Sports in the UK and can be streamed via the HBO Max app.
If you live outside the UK, click the LINK HERE to find out where to watch it in your region.
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: 101greatgoals.com
