Liverpool Aim for Complete Performance Against Fulham at Anfield
Liverpool finally have a win on the board. What they still don’t have, as Andoni Iraola keeps stressing, is a full 90 minutes that matches his vision.
Last weekend at Ipswich, they barely needed one.
Alexander Isak tore into the newly promoted side, scoring twice inside the first 10 minutes and ripping the tension out of the afternoon before it had a chance to build. From there, Liverpool cruised. They didn’t need to dominate the ball, didn’t need to squeeze the life out of the Tractor Boys. The job was done early, the rest felt like a training exercise with points attached.
For a fanbase that had watched back-to-back 2-2 draws against Newcastle and Nottingham Forest to open the campaign, seeing Isak on the scoresheet early and often brought a wave of relief. The panic eased. The questions about sharpness and ruthlessness, though, haven’t fully gone away.
Fulham arrive at Anfield on Saturday with their own problems, but they are not short of goals. Alvaro Arbeloa’s side has nothing to show in the table yet, three games, zero points, but they’ve scored at least twice in two of those matches. The threat is there. The balance is not.
They were outclassed by Chelsea and Sunderland in the first two weeks, beaten soundly and exposed in key moments. Then came Crystal Palace. A 3-2 defeat that stung more than the others, not because they were outplayed from start to finish, but because they could justifiably feel aggrieved at leaving empty-handed. The margins were fine, the outcome brutal.
So Anfield stages a meeting between a home side searching for control and an away side searching for a foothold in the season.
How to watch
- Kick off: 10 am ET, Saturday, September 12
- Venue: Anfield — Liverpool
- TV: Peacock
- Streaming: Live on Peacock
Team news
Iraola’s options are already being tested. Liverpool are without Hugo Ekitike (achilles), Conor Bradley (torn ACL), Federico Chiesa (back), Joe Gomez (undisclosed) and Giovanni Lenoi (torn ACL). It’s a significant list for this early in the season, trimming depth and limiting rotation as the games start to stack up.
Fulham’s absentee list is far shorter but still notable. Tom Cairney misses out with a knee injury, removing experience and composure from Arbeloa’s midfield options.
Prediction
Liverpool have not yet produced the complete, relentless performance Iraola wants, but Anfield, an in-form Isak and Fulham’s defensive frailties point in one direction. Fulham have shown they can score; they have not shown they can shut a game down.
If Liverpool strike early again, the pattern may feel familiar. The real question is whether this time they turn a fast start into the kind of 90-minute statement that sets the tone for the rest of their season.
