Liverpool v Leeds early injury news with seven out, three doubts and five back | OneFootball

Leeds United begin 2026 with a New Year’s Day trip to Liverpool, a 5.30pm kick-off on Thursday. According to yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk, seven players are out and three are doubtful across both squads, with five returning.

The sides drew 3-3 at Elland Road at the start of the month, and both have since sustained further injuries. Liverpool forward Cody Gakpo missed two games with a muscular issue suffered in that match, but returned late on against Wolves at the weekend, coming on with four minutes remaining.

Dominik Szoboszlai, who scored what looked like the winner in the reverse fixture before Ao Tanaka’s late equaliser, is also back. The Hungarian served a one-match ban against Wolves after a fifth booking in the 2-1 win at Tottenham.

Conor Bradley returned from a three-match hamstring lay-off to start at Elland Road, then a fifth booking earned a ban for the subsequent Brighton game. He started the 2-1 win at Tottenham, then came off the bench in Saturday’s 2-1 home victory over Wolves.

Jeremie Frimpong ended a two-month hamstring absence as a second-half substitute in the 2-1 win at Tottenham before Christmas, then made only his second league start in the weekend win over Brighton, registering an assist.

For Leeds, Lukas Nmecha returned from a three-match hamstring injury at Sunderland on Sunday, replacing Noah Okafor with 17 minutes left. Mo Salah is unavailable as he represents Egypt at the Africa Cup of Nations.

Source: yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk