Liverpool XI vs Nottingham Forest: Iraola’s First Home Game Under Pressure
Anfield opens its doors for the first time this season, and Liverpool walk straight into an old problem. Nottingham Forest again. Oliver Glasner again. The fixture that has tripped them twice in a row on this ground, now wrapped inside the emotion of Andoni Iraola’s first home game in charge.
Forest have won on their last two visits to Anfield. Glasner, from the opposite dugout with Crystal Palace last season, also found a way to beat Liverpool twice. The history is awkward. The expectation is not. The Kop wants a reset, a statement, a different story.
Team news: key absences and a bold front line
Iraola’s first Anfield teamsheet comes with some familiar frustrations.
Joe Gomez is still out, his hamstring problem from pre-season keeping him sidelined. Giovanni Leoni and Conor Bradley are also missing with long-term issues, stripping depth from the defensive options.
Further forward, Hugo Ekitike remains unavailable and is not expected back until after Christmas because of an achilles injury. Federico Chiesa, who missed the 2-2 draw at Newcastle United last week, is again a doubt and faces a serious battle even to make the squad.
Harvey Elliott will not feature either as he edges closer to a move away from the club, another reminder that this Liverpool side is in transition as much as it is in competition.
Liverpool’s confirmed XI
Iraola still sends out a side loaded with attacking threat and technical quality:
Liverpool XI: Alisson; Frimpong, Jacquet, Van Dijk (C), Kerkez; Mac Allister, Szoboszlai, Wirtz; Gakpo, Munoz, Isak.
On the bench, there is cover across the pitch but also a hint of how much the squad has been stretched by injuries and exits:
Substitutes: Mamardashvili, Araujo, Tsimikas, Endo, Gravenberch, Nyoni, McConnell, Koumas, Ngumoha.
Virgil van Dijk anchors a reshaped back line, with Jeremie Frimpong and Milos Kerkez expected to drive high from the full-back positions. In midfield, Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai are joined by Florian Wirtz in a trio built to dominate the ball and punch holes between the lines.
Ahead of them, Cody Gakpo, Munoz and Alexander Isak give Liverpool movement, height and goals. It is an aggressive selection, the kind that suggests Iraola is not interested in easing his way into Anfield life.
Forest’s recent record here and Glasner’s history against Liverpool leave no room for a gentle introduction anyway. This feels less like a curtain-raiser and more like an early examination of what Iraola’s Liverpool are going to be.
