Liverpool Begins Andoni Iraola Era Against Newcastle

The Andoni Iraola era starts for real this afternoon, and there are few harsher opening examinations than a trip to St James’ Park. Liverpool head north to face Newcastle in their Premier League curtain-raiser, a new-look side walking straight into one of the league’s most volatile atmospheres.

Liverpool have torn up more than a few pages of the old script over the summer. The club’s recruitment drive has been brisk, the departures brutal. Two pillars of the Jurgen Klopp years, Mohamed Salah and Andy Robertson, have both moved on, stripping the team of goals, assists and a huge chunk of identity in one hit.

Into that void step the new faces. Victor Munoz and Ronald Araujo are among those drafted in, part of a reshaped spine Iraola hopes will give his team a sharper edge and a higher ceiling. Change has come quickly; cohesion will take longer.

That is why all eyes turn to the heart of Liverpool’s defence. Virgil van Dijk remains the constant, but the battle to stand alongside him is already one of the early storylines of the season. Jeremy Jacquet is pushing hard, hoping to beat the more seasoned Araujo to the starting spot at centre-back. If Iraola goes with the younger option, it would be a bold call on day one, at one of the division’s most unforgiving grounds.

Newcastle, though, have had their own storm to ride.

The club parted company with Eddie Howe in July, a departure that ripped out the architect of their recent resurgence. In his place comes Matthias Jaissle, handed the job barely three weeks before the new campaign. It is a thrilling opportunity for the German, but the timing is ruthless.

He inherits a squad that has been pulled apart in key areas. Two of Newcastle’s most influential midfielders, Sandro Tonali and Bruno Guimaraes, have gone, snapped up by Tottenham and Arsenal respectively. That is creativity, control and personality stripped from the engine room in one summer, leaving Jaissle to piece together a new structure on the fly.

The sense of fracture is real, yet so is the threat. St James’ Park can turn an uncertain side into a snarling one in a matter of minutes. Jaissle knows his first test is brutal, but he also knows Liverpool are a work in progress under Iraola, still searching for rhythm, automatisms and trust. On opening weekends, that vulnerability can be lethal.

Newcastle will fancy the chaos. Liverpool will try to control it. One club trying to protect its recent rise, the other desperate to launch a new chapter without looking back at what it has lost.

How to watch Newcastle vs Liverpool

• TV channel: In the UK, the match will be shown live on Sky Sports Premier League and Sky Sports Main Event, with coverage beginning after the 2pm kick-offs.
• Kick-off at St James’ Park is at 4.30pm BST.

Live stream: Sky Sports subscribers can watch online via the Sky Go app or website.

Two new managers, two reshaped squads, one ferocious opening fixture. By full-time, we will know a lot more about who is really ready for this season’s fight.