Liverpool vs Nottingham Forest: Iraola Seeks First Win at Anfield

Anfield gets its first taste of Premier League football this season on Saturday lunchtime, and Liverpool arrive with a strange mix of intrigue and impatience. Andoni Iraola is still waiting for his first league victory in charge after a 2-2 draw at Newcastle, and the pressure to turn performances into points is already nudging upwards.

Nottingham Forest make the trip having lost their own opener to Leeds United, but with just enough recent encouragement at this ground to believe they can disrupt the script.

Liverpool’s selection puzzle

Iraola’s options are already being tested.

Conor Bradley, Hugo Ekitiké, Joe Gomez, Jayden Danns and Giovanni Leoni are all ruled out through injury, while Curtis Jones faces a race against time with a groin problem. The bench, and perhaps even the starting XI, will have to bend around those absences.

Off the pitch, the headline is Bradley Barcola. The Paris Saint-Germain forward is closing in on a £120 million move, a statement signing in every sense, but Anfield will almost certainly have to wait to see him. Even if the paperwork lands in time, his debut is far more likely to come on next week’s trip to Ipswich Town than in this early kick-off.

The player who has already forced his way into the conversation is Victor Muñoz. Thrown on at Newcastle, he won the stoppage-time penalty that salvaged a point and injected some badly needed chaos into Liverpool’s attack. That cameo has changed the dynamic around the front line.

Changes at the back, questions in attack

The back four will not be untouched. Iraola is expected to tweak his defence, with Jérémy Jacquet in line to continue alongside Virgil van Dijk at the heart of the back line. It is a partnership still in its infancy, but Anfield will demand it settles quickly.

Further forward, Muñoz has given his manager a genuine decision. His impact at St James’ Park has put him in serious contention to start, potentially at the expense of Rio Ngumoha. The teenager, who turns 18 on matchday, has been trusted early, but this is a fixture where ruthlessness in selection may trump sentiment.

On the left, Cody Gakpo has earned the right to stay put. He scored against Newcastle and, despite ongoing transfer noise linking him with Tottenham and Manchester City, he is expected to keep his place. For now, Liverpool plan with him, not around his future.

Ryan Gravenberch and Dominik Szoboszlai are set to remain as the midfield anchors, driving the team from deeper areas and feeding the attacking quartet. Up front, the structure continues to be built around Alexander Isak, whose movement and finishing are central to Iraola’s early blueprint.

Predicted Liverpool XI

Liverpool are expected to line up in a 4-2-3-1:

Alisson; Frimpong, Van Dijk, Jacquet, Kerkez; Gravenberch, Szoboszlai; Muñoz, Wirtz, Gakpo; Isak.

It is an XI that blends new combinations with established leaders, and one that will be judged quickly by an Anfield crowd eager to see this new era click.

Kick-off and TV details

The match kicks off at 12:30 on Saturday, 29 August 2026.

In the UK, it will be shown live on TNT Sports 1 and TNT Sports Ultimate.

Forest arrive wounded but hopeful. Liverpool arrive restless and under the spotlight. By Saturday afternoon, we will know whether Iraola’s first Anfield outing has lit the fuse on his tenure or left the questions growing louder.