Liverpool fans concerned as key star missing ahead of Man City clash

Liverpool fans have noticed that one key player was nowhere to be seen ahead of Sunday's crucial game against Manchester City.

Liverpool and City will go head to head at Anfield on Sunday in arguably the biggest match of the Premier League season so far.

The two clubs are locked in a three-way title race with Arsenal, with Liverpool currently one point ahead of City at the top of the table.

A home win would see Jurgen Klopp's side establish a four point buffer between themselves and the visitors, while Pep Guardiola's treble winners will take control of the title race with a victory.

One of the main narratives in the build up to the game has been the injury woes suffered by Liverpool in recent weeks.

Mohamed Salah, Darwin Nunez and Dominik Szoboszlai have all missed key matches lately, although all three are expected to feature at Anfield.

While the likes of Trent Alexander-Arnold, Diogo Jota and Alisson Becker were never going to recover in time for Sunday, it was hoped that Ibrahima Konate would.

The French centre-back was substituted during Liverpool's Europa League defeat of Sparta Prague on Thursday, but Klopp was optimistic he would be fine.

That doesn't appear to be the case though, as the defender didn't take part in Liverpool's pre-game walk on Sunday afternoon.

Fans on X picked up on Konate's absence, and it's fair to say they are concerned.

"Konate is not there. Wish him all the best," one fan replied to a video of the squad out on their walk, while another said: "Konate - please tell me he just didn't want to walk."

Some fans were frustrated that the defender was risked on Thursday during a match Liverpool won 5-1.

"My head's actually boiling since Thursday night thinking why we even played Konate in the second half. Should've subbed him off at halftime. The injury luck we've had is a disgrace," one angry supporter complained.