Bradley Barcola has indicated he will not be asked to play as a central striker when Liverpool host Manchester City on Sunday, with the Reds missing top scorer Alexander Isak.
Isak is sidelined with a thigh injury sustained while on international duty with Sweden. Cody Gakpo is also out with an ankle complaint, and Hugo Ekitike is still recovering from a long-term Achilles injury, leaving head coach Andoni Iraola without his three main attacking options.
Barcola's role under Iraola
Iraola has suggested one of his wide players could move into a central role, but Barcola, a £123million summer signing from Paris Saint-Germain, says he has not been asked to do so.
"No, not more than that," said the France international. "He asks me to do what I can do, to play as usual, so I can play on the left and on the right."
"It's true that I prefer to play on the left, but it doesn't bother me to play on the right, so there's no problem with that and I try to be ready to play left or right."
Previewing the Manchester City clash
Barcola acknowledged the challenge of facing Manchester City, who remain unbeaten this season.
"I think it's going to be a very tough match, because Manchester City are a very good team. We'll be playing at home with all our fans, so I think we have that advantage and we know they'll be behind us," he said.
"It's going to be tough, but we'll be ready. They haven't lost games, but we haven't lost any games either."
The match is the first of nine in 29 days for Liverpool before next month's international break, and Barcola stressed the importance of a strong start to that run.
"It's going to be the game that's going to launch us in the series of games we're going to have," he said. "If we manage to win this game, it's going to be very good for the future."
Adapting to the Premier League
Barcola has yet to register a goal or assist in five Liverpool appearances, three of which have been starts, but he feels he is adapting to English football.
Speaking to liverpoolfc.com, he said: "Yes, I feel comfortable. At the beginning, I had to adapt and now I feel that I'm adapting more and more. So, I'm very happy to start ahead and I hope to be even better on the pitch."
"I think it's very intense (in the Premier League). It's very different from Ligue 1. But yes, you have to work hard to be ready for a lot of running and that's what I try to do in training to be prepared for every match."
