Liverpool's Centre-Back Dilemma as Iraola Begins New Era

A new era for Liverpool begins on Tyneside this afternoon, and Andoni Iraola’s first big call in English football could set the tone for everything that follows.

At the heart of it is a simple question with complicated consequences: who partners Virgil van Dijk at St James’ Park?

Centre-back dilemma defines Iraola’s first XI

Injuries and absences have stripped the decision down to two names. Joe Gomez is out after a pre-season knock. Giovanni Leoni is a long-term casualty. That leaves Araujo and Jeremy Jacquet as the only senior alternatives alongside the captain.

Both were given an even audition last weekend, 45 minutes each in the final warm-up game against Como. Jacquet seized his moment with a goal on his Anfield bow, a neat reminder of his threat in both boxes.

But the story of his summer is not that straightforward. The defender has battled for fitness throughout pre-season and has barely played competitive football in the last six months, recovering from shoulder surgery undergone in February while at Rennes. Throwing him straight into one of the most hostile away grounds in the Premier League would be a bold move.

Araujo, by contrast, knows exactly what awaits. He has already felt the noise and intensity of St James’ Park and shown he can cope with it. For a manager taking charge of his first Premier League game, that kind of experience is hard to ignore. The fixture remains one of the league’s toughest away tests, even with Newcastle’s troubled summer in the background.

The pressure finally falls on Iraola to decide: trust the rhythm and resilience of Araujo, or roll the dice on Jacquet’s upside in a cauldron?

Rest of the side picks itself

Beyond that central defensive call, Liverpool’s line-up almost writes itself.

Alisson anchors the side in goal. Jeremie Frimpong and Milos Kerkez are set to complete the back five, offering pace and aggression from the flanks to support Iraola’s high-tempo blueprint.

In midfield, Ryan Gravenberch is expected to line up alongside Dominik Szoboszlai. Trey Nyoni impressed across pre-season and has forced his way into the conversation, but this looks like a day for established operators in the engine room.

Alexis Mac Allister is unlikely to be thrown in from the start. He has managed just 54 minutes for Liverpool this summer after an extended post-World Cup break and is still playing catch-up. Curtis Jones, a regular reference point in recent seasons, is no longer an option after his move to Inter Milan.

That leaves the creative burden in the final third to a new-look supporting cast.

New faces in attack, old storyline up front

With Liverpool yet to get deals over the line for Bradley Barcola or Ibrahim Mbaye and talks continuing over Yankuba Minteh, Iraola must lean on what he has. Rio Ngumoha and Cody Gakpo are expected to start out wide, tasked with stretching Newcastle’s back line and feeding the man in the middle.

Florian Wirtz should slot into the No 10 role, the bridge between midfield and attack, the player asked to make sense of Iraola’s attacking patterns in real time. On the bench, Victor Munoz will be hoping this is the afternoon his Liverpool story officially starts, waiting for the signal to come on for his debut.

And then there is the centre-forward. The subplot that will dominate the noise inside the stadium.

Alexander Isak returns to St James’ Park for the first time since his British record £125 million switch to Liverpool last summer. The manner of that move still stings on Tyneside, and nobody is expecting a warm embrace. A frosty reception is almost guaranteed.

For Iraola, for Liverpool, for Isak himself, it all converges here: a new era, an old ground, and a first team sheet that already carries the weight of a season’s ambitions.