Liverpool v Nottingham Forest: Iraola and Glasner Renew Rivalry
Anfield gets its first big Saturday lunchtime of the Premier League season as Liverpool host Nottingham Forest, with two coaches who know each other – and each other’s flaws – almost too well.
Kick-off is at 12:30 on TNT Sports 1. The stakes are already clear.
Liverpool looking for lift-off
Liverpool sit 10th with a single point, still searching for rhythm under Andoni Iraola. Their last outing, a 2-2 draw with Newcastle, showed both the promise and the raw edges of this new-look side.
They scored twice, they were open, they were bold. They also dropped points.
Iraola is expected to lean again on the same attacking core that caused Newcastle problems. Alisson Becker anchors the side, with Jeremie Frimpong and Milos Kerkez offering width from full-back and Virgil Van Dijk marshalling the back line alongside Jérémy Jacquet.
In midfield, Dominik Szoboszlai and Ryan Gravenberch provide legs and creativity, with Rio Ngumoha and Florian Wirtz tasked with threading the game together behind Cody Gakpo and Alexander Isak. It is a front unit built to dominate the ball and suffocate opponents high up the pitch.
Liverpool’s injury list trims some of Iraola’s options. Joe Gomez, Conor Bradley, Hugo Ekitiké and Giovanni Leoni are all unavailable, limiting defensive rotation and attacking depth from the bench. The starting XI, though, looks settled and aggressive.
Forest arrive under pressure
Nottingham Forest travel to Anfield with no points and a place in 13th, and they do so on the back of a bruising week. Oliver Glasner’s side have lost two on the bounce, including a 2-0 defeat to Leeds United in the Carabao Cup.
Confidence is fragile. The schedule offers no mercy.
Glasner’s predicted XI suggests a different shape and a different emphasis from the cup loss. Matz Sels starts in goal, protected by a back line of Jair Cunha, Nikola Milenkovic, Murillo and Ola Aina. Ibrahim Sangaré is expected to anchor midfield, with James McAtee and Neco Williams providing energy and width.
Further forward, Morgan Gibbs-White carries the creative burden, with Igor Jesus and Dan Ndoye offering movement and direct running in attack. It is a side built to counter, to spring quickly when Liverpool overcommit.
Forest are without Ryan Yates and Nicolò Savona through injury, removing experience and a midfield option from Glasner’s plans at a time when control in the middle of the pitch is exactly what they need.
A familiar duel on the touchline
If the squads are evolving, the men in the technical areas are anything but strangers.
Andoni Iraola has faced Oliver Glasner five times. He has never lost: two wins, three draws. Glasner, though, has his own history with Liverpool. Across seven meetings with the club, he has claimed three wins, two draws and only two defeats – evidence that his approach can unsettle the Anfield crowd.
Iraola also knows this Forest badge well. Six meetings, three wins, three draws. No defeats there either.
The last time these two clubs met, Liverpool edged it 1-0. Tight margins, narrow gaps, and little to suggest this will be a procession for the home side, regardless of league position.
Form, tension and an early-season marker
Forest arrive on Merseyside with two straight defeats and no win in their last two games. The slide is small in numbers but heavy in mood. Lose again, and early-season concern turns into something louder.
Liverpool, meanwhile, cannot afford to let another game drift away. One point from their opening league outing leaves no room for complacency, especially with a manager whose football demands intensity from the first whistle.
Anfield will expect front-foot football. Forest will expect to suffer. Between Iraola’s pressing blueprint and Glasner’s knack for disrupting bigger sides, this lunchtime kick-off has the feel of an early test of nerve.
Who blinks first?
