Andoni Iraola's Premier League Debut: Liverpool vs Newcastle

Andoni Iraola steps into the Premier League spotlight on Sunday, and there are few harsher introductions than a trip to St James’ Park. Liverpool’s new head coach begins his tenure in the north-east against Newcastle United, carrying both the weight of expectation and the shadow of last season’s flat fifth-place finish.

This campaign is supposed to be about a title push. In reality, year one under Iraola is more about direction than destination: signs that Liverpool are moving back towards major silverware, even as the Spaniard wrestles with a worryingly thin squad.

Jeremy Jacquet has arrived as the marquee signing, a £60million deal from Rennes finally landing after being agreed last year. Ronald Araujo and Victor Munoz have come in from Barcelona and Osasuna as squad options. The attack, though, still looks short of the depth required for a team that wants to fight seriously on several fronts.

All of that is long-term noise. In the here and now, Iraola’s first job is brutal in its simplicity: pick the right team for Tyneside. A poor result on opening day, in a hostile stadium, and the mood around Anfield could sour quickly.

Three calls stand out already.

Araujo over Jacquet at the heart of defence

The temptation will be there. New signing. Big fee. Big stage. But starting Jeremy Jacquet in the St James’ Park cauldron would be less a statement and more a gamble.

The 21-year-old has not played a minute of competitive football since early February. Across pre-season, he managed just 45 minutes because of injury. Throwing him straight into a Premier League debut against a high-energy Newcastle side would be asking for trouble rather than announcing a new defensive leader.

Iraola is short at centre-back with Joe Gomez injured, yet he does have Ronald Araujo. The Barcelona loanee is not fully up to speed either, having only played a half of football in pre-season, but his rhythm from last season remains fresh. He featured regularly for Barça right through to the end of the campaign and has lived seven years of high-stakes nights at the Nou Camp.

He knows hostile crowds. He knows pressure. He knows what it is to defend when the noise is deafening.

Picking Jacquet from the start would be bold. That does not make it right. In this environment, experience should win.

Trust Ngumoha’s fearlessness on the right

At centre-back, caution makes sense. On the right wing, Iraola has little choice but to lean into youth.

Rio Ngumoha is only 17. On paper, starting him at St James’ Park carries the same risks as throwing in Jacquet. In reality, the situation is different. Liverpool’s options out wide are far more limited, and Ngumoha has spent the summer demanding attention.

He impressed throughout pre-season, showing enough to justify serious consideration rather than a token bench role. More than that, he already knows what it feels like to decide this exact fixture. Last season, the teenager scored the winning goal at St James’ Park, sliding the ball past Nick Pope at the Leazes End in the 100th minute.

That moment matters. He has already walked into this storm and come out with the game in his hands.

Iraola could shift Victor Munoz out of position and use him on the right, but that would be a safety-first move that ignores form and personality. Ngumoha plays with a fearlessness that suits both the coach’s front-foot style and the intensity of this particular away day, especially with Alexander Isak returning to his former home to crank up the atmosphere even further.

If Liverpool are serious about refreshing this squad, this is exactly the kind of stage on which they must be willing to back their brightest talent.

Mac Allister the odd man out in midfield

Midfield is the one area where Iraola is not scrambling for bodies. Even with Curtis Jones expected to join Inter Milan, the new boss can still choose from Alexis Mac Allister, Dominik Szoboszlai, Ryan Gravenberch, Florian Wirtz, Wataru Endo, Harvey Elliott, Trey Nyoni and Stefan Bajcetic.

That depth gives him the freedom to be ruthless. It should also give Mac Allister a jolt.

The World Cup winner has barely featured in pre-season, playing just 54 minutes after an extended break. His 2025/26 campaign was patchy at best, with long stretches where he struggled to impose himself or dictate games at the level Liverpool require from a central figure.

With alternatives available, there is no need to ease him in from the start. Iraola can instead shape a midfield that better fits his ideas and the current form of his players.

A trio of Szoboszlai, Gravenberch and Wirtz offers energy, creativity and vertical threat. Szoboszlai brings drive and shooting from distance, Gravenberch carries the ball through lines, and Wirtz knits attacks together between midfield and the front line. On paper, that blend looks more balanced for a high-tempo away performance.

Leaving Mac Allister out at St James’ Park would be a statement, but a logical one. It signals that reputations will not guarantee places and that Liverpool’s reset under Iraola will be built on what works now, not what worked once.

The new era starts in the noise and chaos of Newcastle. How brave will Iraola really be when he hands in that first teamsheet?