Liverpool and Manchester City meet in the Premier League on a 4.30pm BST kick-off, with both squads arriving off the back of an international break that has taken a heavy toll on the players involved.
The value of the window has long been argued over, and the scale of the casualty list has sharpened the debate. Craig Bellamy, the Wales head coach, mounted a defence of the workload after four matches in 11 days, saying: “The intensity of the squad, the athleticism of it, really, I think it’s designed for the elite.” Elite club coaches would disagree. The Nations League and the wider set of international fixtures staged around the globe have been accompanied by a daily list of casualties, with club officials watching matches through their fingers as players pull up and gesture to the bench.
Manchester City have particular reason for alarm, almost certainly to the disquiet of Enzo Maresca. Elliot Anderson and Marc Guéhi were, alongside Harry Kane, the only England players to start all four Nations League matches, while Nico O’Reilly withdrew halfway through the window.
Liverpool’s problems appear to run deeper. Alexander Isak and Cody Gakpo, both early successes under Andoni Iraola, sustained injuries while away with Sweden and the Netherlands respectively, and Jérémy Jacquet, another bright spark this season, reportedly strained a hamstring with France.
The damage is not confined to the two clubs meeting here. The wider spate of injuries picked up with national teams, which has left a sour taste for top clubs, has seen Havertz, Isak and Dorgu grouped together as prominent cases.