Centre-back Dilemma Defines Iraola's First Day at Liverpool

A new manager, a hostile away end, and one huge call at the heart of defence. Andoni Iraola’s Liverpool era starts at St James’ Park this afternoon with one question looming larger than the rest: who stands next to Virgil van Dijk?

Centre-back dilemma defines Iraola’s first day

Joe Gomez is out after a pre-season injury, Giovanni Leoni is a long-term absentee, and the depth chart has thinned fast. That leaves just Araujo and summer signing Jeremy Jacquet as the senior candidates to partner the captain in the middle.

Both were given 45 minutes in the final warm-up game against Como, a deliberate split to sharpen legs and test combinations. Jacquet marked his first Anfield outing with a goal just before half-time, a tidy moment that hinted at his threat in the opposition box.

But that isn’t the whole story. Jacquet has been playing catch-up all summer. Fitness issues have dogged his pre-season, and he has barely played competitive football in the past six months after shoulder surgery in February while still at Rennes. Throwing him straight into one of the Premier League’s most intense away fixtures would be a bold roll of the dice.

Araujo, by contrast, knows this ground. He has already felt the noise, the hostility, the relentlessness of St James’ Park. He has proved he can cope with it. For a manager taking charge of his first competitive game, that familiarity could be worth a lot. Iraola may decide that this is a day for reliability over romance.

A largely settled XI around van Dijk

Beyond that central defensive call, the rest of the side almost selects itself.

Alisson is locked in behind a back line expected to include Jeremie Frimpong and Milos Kerkez, giving Liverpool thrust on both flanks. With van Dijk marshalling the unit, Iraola’s defensive structure already has a clear spine; the only moving part is that second centre-back.

In midfield, Ryan Gravenberch is in line to start alongside Dominik Szoboszlai. Trey Nyoni did everything he could in pre-season to force his way into the conversation, impressing with maturity and confidence, but this opener looks set to belong to the established names.

Alexis Mac Allister is unlikely to be thrown in from the start. He has logged just 54 minutes this summer after an extended post-World Cup break and is still building sharpness. Curtis Jones, a regular under the previous regime, is no longer an option after his move to Inter Milan, reshaping the hierarchy in the middle of the park.

New faces, missing targets, and a frosty homecoming

Out wide, Liverpool’s transfer business — and the deals that haven’t yet happened — will be felt. Talks continue over Yankuba Minteh, while pursuits of Bradley Barcola and Ibrahim Mbaye remain unresolved. For now, Iraola turns to what he has: Rio Ngumoha and Cody Gakpo are expected to operate from the flanks, with Florian Wirtz handed the keys in the No 10 role.

On the bench, Victor Munoz will be waiting for a moment of his own, hoping Iraola looks his way to hand him a debut on a stage that rarely does gentle introductions.

And then there is the man leading the line.

Alexander Isak returns to Tyneside for the first time since his British record £125 million move from Newcastle last summer. The fee, the manner of the exit, the sense of what might have been for the hosts — it all feeds into what awaits him this afternoon. He will walk out into a stadium that once adored him and now feels betrayed. A frosty reception is almost guaranteed.

For Iraola, that might be no bad thing. A hostile crowd, a fired-up former hero, a defensive puzzle to solve. If you want to see what a new Liverpool looks like under pressure, there are few better places to find out than St James’ Park.