dpKey events
Barcola will certainly be put to work when he arrives at Anfield. Iraola sets out the load with this pace-and-eyebrow-raising manifesto.
“For me, wingers, forwards, I always tell them that they don’t need to give us 90 minutes. I tell them it is good news when they are exhausted because then we have taken everything from you and someone else will come in.”
A Spanish take on Jurgen Klopp’s heavy metal. Flamenco? The Basque tradition of trikitixa? Probably need to think about this some more. Or never again.
Iraola will have another nice selection problem soon. News broke this morning of Liverpool finalising a deal, at long last, for PSG winger Bradley Barcola. Once the last hoop has been jumped through – a medical this weekend – one of the summer’s most tedious … no, let’s be nice … slowly unfolding tales will come to its natural end.
Andoni Iraola takes charge of his first competitive match at Anfield as Liverpool manager this lunchtime, and he speaks to TNT Sports. “Emotional in my case … obviously it’s a game we want to win … you are focusing on the pitch … but for me it’s a special game, definitely, yes … it has to be difficult for me to choose a starting XI … what changes we can make in the second half … what the subs can provide … they were important against Newcastle and I hope today they are also important.”
Liverpool make two changes to the side that drew 2-2 at Newcastle United last weekend. Alexis Mac Allister replaces Ryan Gravenberch in midfield, while Victor Munoz makes his full debut by taking over stand-in duties on the right wing from Rio Ngumoha. Cody Gakpo, who impressed last weekend but is now the subject of a £70m bid from Tottenham, retains his place amid the chatter.
Nottingham Forest make one change to the team that lost 1-0 on the opening day at home to Leeds United. Ibrahim Sangaré is injured and so makes way in midfield for Xaver Schlager. Liam Delap, their new £50m signing from Chelsea, starts on the bench.
The teams
Liverpool: Alisson, Frimpong, Jacquet, van Dijk, Kerkez, Szoboszlai, Mac Allister, Munoz, Wirtz, Gakpo, Isak.
Subs: Mamardashvili, Endo, Tsimikas, Araujo, Gravenberch, Nyoni, McConnell, Koumas, Ngumoha.
Nottingham Forest: Sels, Cunha, Milenkovic, Murillo, Aina, Schlager, McAtee, Williams, Ndoye, Gibbs-White, Igor Jesus.
Subs: John Victor, Diomande, Hudson-Odoi, Dominguez, Wood, Delap, Yates, Netz, Abbott.
Referee: Sam Barrott
VAR: Michael Oliver
Preamble
On days like these, Arne Slot will be thankful that Liverpool gave him the old heave-ho. Because this specific fixture messed with his mind something chronic. In an otherwise sensational start to his time with the Reds – 18 wins out of his first 20 games – the one L blotting up Slot’s landscape was Nottingham Forest at Anfield. Liverpool had 70 percent of possession that September afternoon in 2024, but Forest soaked it up and Callum Hudson-Odoi scored a wonderful winner on the counter. Slot never stopped referencing it, an itch he couldn’t scratch.
The following autumn, Forest rocked up at Anfield again, and this time routed Slot’s side 3-0. That was part of a different kind of sensational sequence – nine losses in 12 – from which his reign never recovered. So Liverpool fans can be forgiven for approaching this match with caution and concern, and that’s before we get to their disjointed performance at Newcastle last week, and the fact that Oliver Glasner (P7 W4 D1 with Crystal Palace) seemingly has their number. Having said all that, Forest haven’t exactly flown out of the traps under their new boss, with back-to-back losses to Leeds in league and cup, and there’s one other famous staging of this fixture that will give Liverpool fans hope. So this isn’t an easy one to predict. Kick-off is at 12.30pm BST. It’s on!
