A new manager, a familiar problem

There's a certain irony in Andoni Iraola's first Premier League home match as Liverpool head coach coming against the very side who made Anfield such miserable territory in the Arne Slot years. Nottingham Forest won here 1-0 in September 2024, a result easily brushed aside as a blip on Liverpool's title-winning march, and then returned in November last year to deliver a 3-0 hiding that carried altogether more serious consequences for Slot's unravelling tenure. Two visits, two wins. Forest have owned this ground in recent times, and Iraola will know that.

Iraola himself has acknowledged the significance of the occasion, admitting he'll take a moment to reflect on it properly once the match is done. That's the mark of a man who keeps his emotions in the right order, job first, sentiment later. He's come a long way quickly as a coach, but as the source notes, this is really only the beginning. Liverpool haven't won a competitive fixture since April, and getting that monkey off their back against a side who fancy themselves here feels like the only acceptable starting point.

How Liverpool line up and what it tells us

The team Iraola has selected carries a few notable talking points. Alexis Mac Allister comes into the midfield alongside Dominik Szoboszlai, with Mac Allister tasked with offering a more disciplined screen in front of the back four, a role that wasn't adequately filled at Newcastle on the opening weekend. It's Mac Allister's first start since the World Cup final, which remarkably was still only last month, and the expectation is that his presence will compact the midfield and limit the kind of counter-attacking space Forest have ruthlessly exploited here before.

Ryan Gravenberch, who made two significant errors at St James' Park, drops to the bench as a result. That's not a condemnation, Iraola has framed this season as a learning process, but Mac Allister's greater defensive instincts make him the more sensible call against a Forest side built to punish transitions. Victor Munoz makes his full Premier League debut, and Florian Wirtz needs to be central to everything Liverpool do going forward. Iraola has also hinted that he won't be asking his forwards to run themselves into the ground for 90 minutes, which suggests rotation and freshness are very much on his mind this early in the campaign.

The big story buzzing around Anfield this morning

As if the match itself wasn't enough to get the pulses racing, Liverpool supporters arriving at Anfield today are digesting the morning's major transfer news. Bradley Barcola is reportedly on Merseyside for a medical ahead of a £123 million move from Paris Saint-Germain. That figure, if confirmed, would represent a serious statement of intent from the club, and the timing, with the new manager barely a week into competitive football, suggests the recruitment drive is moving at serious pace.

There's also a quieter subplot worth keeping an eye on. Rio Ngumoha, who turns 18 today, is amongst the substitutes and is reportedly set for a new role at the club this season. Birthdays don't get much better than that.

For now though, the focus returns to the pitch. Szoboszlai rescued a point at Newcastle last week, Mac Allister is back and trusted, and a young squad with fresh ideas is getting its first proper look at Anfield under new management. Whether Liverpool can finally end Forest's run here will tell us a great deal about where this team is heading.