Liverpool XI vs Nottingham Forest: Iraola's Anfield Challenge Begins

Liverpool walk back out at Anfield for the first time this season with an awkward truth hanging over the place: Nottingham Forest like it here. They’ve won on their last two visits. Their new head coach, Oliver Glasner, also did the double over Liverpool last year with Crystal Palace.

So this is not a gentle homecoming for Andoni Iraola. It’s a test of nerve on day one.

Injuries bite, but core remains

Liverpool’s first league line-up at Anfield in 2026-27 is strong on paper, but the absentees tell their own story.

Joe Gomez is missing again as he works his way back from the hamstring injury that wrecked his pre-season. The defence is further stretched with Giovanni Leoni and Conor Bradley both ruled out with long-term problems, trimming Iraola’s options at full-back and across the back line.

Upfield, Hugo Ekitike is also unavailable. An achilles issue is set to keep the forward out until after Christmas, removing a different kind of threat from Liverpool’s attacking mix just as the campaign starts to take shape.

Federico Chiesa remains a doubt after sitting out last week’s 2-2 draw at Newcastle United. Even if he proves his fitness, the competition for a place in the matchday squad is fierce and his involvement is far from guaranteed.

Harvey Elliott will not feature. With an exit edging closer, he drops out of the squad entirely on a night when the Kop might have expected to see him one last time.

Liverpool’s XI: a new look down the spine

Despite the injuries and uncertainty, Iraola names an aggressive, front-foot side for his Anfield bow:

Liverpool XI: Alisson; Frimpong, Jacquet, Van Dijk (C), Kerkez; Mac Allister, Szoboszlai, Wirtz; Gakpo, Munoz, Isak.

Substitutes: Mamardashvili, Araujo, Tsimikas, Endo, Gravenberch, Nyoni, McConnell, Koumas, Ngumoha.

Virgil van Dijk wears the armband at the heart of a defence that includes new faces around him, with Jeremie Frimpong and Milos Kerkez offering pace and width from full-back. In midfield, Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai are joined by Florian Wirtz, a trio built to dominate the ball and punch through lines rather than simply protect them.

Up front, Cody Gakpo, Munoz and Alexander Isak give Liverpool movement, power and height, a front line designed to stretch Forest in every direction.

Forest arrive with history on their side and a coach who knows how to hurt Liverpool. Iraola walks out into Anfield for the first time knowing exactly what that means: this can’t just be a new chapter. It has to be a hard reset.