For Andoni Iraola, the challenge is not simply to find a way to beat Manchester City. It is to discover how much of Liverpool’s emerging identity can survive when some of the players expected to define it are missing.

Liverpool’s head coach has spent the opening weeks of his tenure trying to strike a balance between intensity, verticality and control. He wants his team to press aggressively, attack quickly and play with greater offensive fluidity, without surrendering the defensive structure that allows them to control matches.

Sunday’s visit of the Premier League leaders is an opportunity to see whether those principles are taking hold.

It is also a particularly awkward time to face City. Alexander Isak and Cody Gakpo have both been ruled out after sustaining injuries on international duty, while Hugo Ekitike remains unavailable. Isak has scored four league goals in his first five appearances, making his absence especially significant.

Iraola has insisted Liverpool have enough quality to compete, but the circumstances will force him to make important decisions about the composition of his attack.

Lewis Koumas is the only recognised natural No 9 currently available, according to the head coach, although Bradley Barcola can operate across the front line and Federico Chiesa may return to consideration after resuming training.

Liverpool will need more than an effective replacement for Isak. They will need an attacking structure capable of challenging a City side that has started the season with five consecutive league victories.

One of the most intriguing statistics ahead of Sunday’s match concerns the contrasting strengths of the two teams.

Liverpool have applied high-intensity pressure to 48.9 per cent of their opponents’ touches in the opposition half in the Premier League this season, the highest proportion in the division. City, meanwhile, have completed 83 per cent of their passes when subjected to high-intensity pressure, also the league’s best figure.

Those numbers describe a compelling contest.

Liverpool want to make opponents uncomfortable, close passing lanes and force hurried decisions. City are particularly adept at retaining possession even when opponents attempt to disrupt their build-up.

If Liverpool press without sufficient coordination, City have the technical quality to play through them and exploit the spaces left behind. If Liverpool retreat too readily, they risk allowing Enzo Maresca’s side to establish territorial control and dictate the rhythm of the game.

The answer is unlikely to be constant aggression. Liverpool will need to recognise when to jump forward, when to screen central passing options and when to protect their shape.

The positioning of Dominik Szoboszlai and the midfield around him will be crucial. Liverpool need enough energy to disrupt City’s possession, but they must also ensure their midfielders are not repeatedly pulled away from the spaces they are supposed to protect.

Iraola has already identified the balance he wants.

“We try to be more intense, be more vertical, but also you want to control the games,” he said during the international break. He acknowledged that Liverpool had recently controlled matches more effectively but lost some of the attacking fluidity they displayed earlier in the campaign.

Against City, those objectives will be tested simultaneously.

The absence of Isak and Gakpo makes the attacking selection one of the defining questions of the afternoon.

Koumas could provide Liverpool with a conventional centre-forward, offering movement behind the defence and a presence in the penalty area. Starting him would represent a significant show of confidence in a young player, but it would also preserve a familiar reference point for the players behind him.

Iraola has publicly backed the forward.

“Koumas has our trust,” he said, explaining that the youngster had already demonstrated his readiness during important minutes.

The alternative is to move Barcola into a central role.

The France international has experience playing as a striker as well as on either flank, and Iraola has described him as a “super-valuable” player because of that versatility. The manager has also defended Barcola’s performances despite the winger not converting some of his opportunities.

Using Barcola centrally could give Liverpool a more mobile forward line, with Florian Wirtz and Szoboszlai moving around him. Rather than asking one striker to occupy City’s centre-backs, Liverpool could attempt to stretch the defensive structure through rotations and runs from several positions.

But that approach carries its own risks. Barcola’s pace is a major weapon when he can attack defenders from wide areas, and moving him inside could reduce the space in which he is most dangerous.

Koumas offers a natural focal point; Barcola offers unpredictability.

Neither option is a direct replacement for Isak. The decision will depend on which qualities Iraola believes Liverpool need most against this particular opponent.

Whoever starts up front, Liverpool need their attacking midfielders to connect the team.

Wirtz’s ability to receive between the lines and combine in tight spaces could be especially important if City dominate possession. Liverpool will need someone capable of turning a successful press or defensive recovery into a meaningful attacking opportunity, rather than simply returning the ball to the opposition.

If Koumas starts, Wirtz can look to play around him, exploiting the spaces created by the striker’s movement. If Barcola operates centrally, Wirtz may have to help provide the positional discipline that allows a more fluid forward line to function.

Szoboszlai offers a different threat. His running power and willingness to arrive in the penalty area give Liverpool another source of goals, while his energy could be essential to the press.

The danger is becoming too dependent on those two players to compensate for the missing forwards. Liverpool still need width, support from their full-backs and enough movement ahead of the ball to stop City defending comfortably.

The question is whether they can create that collective threat without losing the structure Iraola has been trying to establish.

Liverpool’s defensive picture is more encouraging.

Jérémy Jacquet is expected to be available after missing France’s latest international fixture with a hamstring concern. His return should give Iraola the option of retaining the centre-back partnership that has helped Liverpool through the opening weeks of the season.

That matters against City, whose movement can force defenders into difficult decisions about when to step out, when to track runners and when to protect the space behind them.

Jacquet’s athleticism and willingness to defend forward have complemented Virgil van Dijk’s experience and positional awareness. Keeping that partnership intact would give Liverpool a degree of continuity at a time when the attack is likely to look different.

The defensive challenge extends beyond the centre-backs, however. Liverpool must be alert to City’s rotations, particularly when wide players move inside and create opportunities for overlapping runners.

Their pressing structure will be important here, too. The better Liverpool can disrupt City’s build-up before it reaches the final third, the less often their defenders will be forced to defend sustained attacks close to their own penalty area.

Manchester City have won all five of their opening Premier League matches and arrive at Anfield as the division’s early leaders. Liverpool are unbeaten but sit six points behind them, having drawn three of their first five league games.

That difference makes this a meaningful early-season test, even with plenty of football still to come.

City have demonstrated their ability to score heavily and maintain control, while Liverpool are still refining the balance between their pressing intensity and their ability to manage games.

Iraola has been encouraged by his team’s defensive development, but he knows they will need to be close to their best to beat City. The visitors’ ability to play through pressure means Liverpool cannot rely on energy alone; they must press intelligently and remain compact when their initial attempts to win the ball fail.

Erling Haaland is another obvious threat. Liverpool will have to manage his movement in the penalty area while preventing City from supplying him with repeated opportunities. That requires discipline from the centre-backs, protection from midfield and a collective effort to restrict the quality of the service he receives.

At the other end, Liverpool need to make their opportunities count. Against a side this comfortable in possession, spells of dominance may be difficult to sustain. The home side must therefore make their best moments meaningful.

Liverpool’s home form provides another subplot. They have drawn their last four Premier League matches at Anfield, a run that underlines the importance of turning territorial pressure and the support of the crowd into victories.

The atmosphere should be significant on Sunday, but it cannot solve the tactical problems on its own.

Liverpool need to channel the energy of Anfield into a disciplined performance. An aggressive start could unsettle City, particularly if the press forces early mistakes, but the home side must avoid allowing the occasion to turn the game into an uncontrolled exchange of attacks.

That is where Iraola’s emphasis on control becomes so important.

He has spoken about wanting Liverpool to become more vertical and entertaining, and has admitted he would rather win a game 4-3 than 1-0. But he has also recognised the need to manage transitions more effectively after Liverpool conceded twice on the counter-attack against Newcastle.

Sunday demands both sides of that philosophy: the ambition to hurt City and the discipline to prevent them exploiting Liverpool’s aggression.

There is a temptation to make this match entirely about the missing forwards. Their absence will undoubtedly influence the team selection and the way Liverpool approach the game.

But the bigger question is how Iraola responds.

If Liverpool can press City effectively, progress the ball with purpose and create opportunities despite the absence of Isak and Gakpo, it would offer encouraging evidence that their attacking structure is becoming more than a collection of individual talents.

If they struggle to escape City’s pressure or fail to create a consistent threat, the match will expose the work still required.

Neither outcome should define a season after only a handful of league fixtures. But this is the sort of opponent against whom a team’s weaknesses become difficult to conceal.

Liverpool have shown enough in the opening weeks to suggest they can compete. City arrive with the results and the technical quality to make that a demanding proposition.

For Iraola, the challenge is to show that Liverpool can be intense without becoming reckless, controlled without becoming passive, and dangerous without relying on one or two individuals to make everything happen.

The absence of Isak and Gakpo has made that task harder.

It has also made Sunday’s game a more revealing test of the team he is building.

At Anfield, Liverpool have the opportunity to demonstrate that their progress does not depend on having every preferred option available. Against Manchester City, that may be the most important statement they can make.