Liverpool Faces Challenging Test Against Rising Como at Anfield

Liverpool’s final rehearsal before the Premier League curtain goes up is not the gentle run-out it might once have been. Como 1907 arrive at Anfield on Sunday with momentum, confidence, and a growing reputation for upsetting the script.

They’ll even get two cracks at it. The clubs meet twice behind closed doors on the same day, stripping Anfield of its usual roar and turning this into something closer to a training-ground examination than a traditional home friendly. For a Liverpool side still feeling its way under Andoni Iraola, that changes the equation.

Liverpool searching for rhythm, and answers, at the back

The concern around Liverpool is simple: they don’t look ready yet, especially without the ball.

Iraola is new in the dugout and his ideas are still bedding in. The transfer market has moved slowly, and the squad hasn’t had the injection of depth or clarity that usually calms nerves at this stage. Pre-season has underlined the attacking talent on show, but also exposed a soft underbelly.

The numbers are stark. Liverpool have shipped seven goals in their last two outings, losing both to sides they were fancied to beat. Against Leeds they led 2-0 on the hour and still contrived to lose 4-2, a collapse that will not have gone unnoticed in the Como camp.

Defensively, the options are thin. Injuries to Conor Bradley, Giovanni Leoni and Joe Gomez leave Iraola short of reliable bodies at the back. New signing Jeremy Jacquet only returned to training on Wednesday and is a major doubt, so loan arrival Ronald Araujo is expected to be thrown straight in as part of a new centre-back pairing. That kind of partnership rarely clicks instantly.

Up the pitch, it’s a different story. Liverpool have scored nine times in four pre-season games. Dominik Szoboszlai has looked sharp, Florian Wirtz has joined him on the scoresheet, and Alexander Isak adds a ruthless edge in the box. The predicted XI – Alisson; Frimpong, Araujo, Van Dijk, Kerkez; Szoboszlai, Gravenberch, Chiesa; Wirtz, Gakpo, Isak – screams goals.

It also screams “we’ll give you a chance.”

Como’s remarkable rise gathers pace

On the other side of this friendly stands a club riding a wave.

Cesc Fabregas has every reason to be satisfied with Como’s pre-season. They finished fourth in Serie A last season, a finish that secured Champions League football for the first time in their history. Seven years ago they were in Serie D. Now they are preparing for nights under the European spotlight.

The belief is real, and recent results back it up. Como have not lost a pre-season match inside 90 minutes. They’ve scored 10 goals in their last five games and gone past the one-goal mark in three of those. This is not a side content to sit in and survive.

Their trip to the Emirates in midweek underlined that point. Against Premier League champions Arsenal, Como went toe to toe and walked away level after 90 minutes. That performance, away to a full-strength powerhouse, sends a clear message before they head to an empty Anfield: they are not here for the occasion; they are here for a result.

Fabregas is expected to lean again on a balanced, ambitious XI: Butez; Couto, Ramon, Kempf, Valle; Da Cunha, Perrone, Liberali; Baturina, Diao, Douvikas. Martin Baturina and Anastasios Douvikas carry the main threat, and both are fancied to trouble a Liverpool defence still learning each other’s movements.

Goals on the cards as defences creak

Strip away the noise and one theme keeps resurfacing: both teams score, and they do it often.

Three of Liverpool’s four pre-season matches have seen both sides find the net. All five of Como’s friendlies have produced goals at both ends. That’s not a coincidence; it’s a pattern.

Liverpool’s attack has already shown it can cut through opponents. Como’s front line has been equally prolific, and they now face a defence that has looked anything but settled. With Araujo likely to be eased in alongside Virgil van Dijk and new full-backs Jeremie Frimpong and Milos Kerkez still adjusting, there are gaps to be found.

With the stands empty, the usual Anfield surge won’t be there to suffocate the visitors or drag Liverpool through tricky spells. That should allow Como to grow into the contest quickly, rather than spend the first half pinned back by noise and emotion.

A 2-2 draw sits as a very live scoreline. Szoboszlai and Isak are strong candidates to strike for Liverpool; Baturina and Douvikas look just as capable of replying for the Lariani.

An upset on the cards?

Take away the crowd, add defensive frailty, and this becomes arguably the best possible moment to face Liverpool at Anfield.

The hosts are on a two-game losing streak, both defeats coming against sides they were expected to handle. They’ve coughed up leads, conceded sloppy goals and looked unsure in key moments. Iraola is still searching for balance and control.

Como, by contrast, arrive unbeaten over 90 minutes in five pre-season fixtures and buoyed by a draw at Arsenal. They have rhythm, clarity and a manager whose ideas have already taken root. Their five-game run demands respect; this is not a token Serie A visitor turning up for a payday and a photo.

With Liverpool’s back line patched up and still learning one another, Como have every chance of scoring at least twice. Monaco and Leeds both managed that against the Reds in recent games, and Fabregas’ side have the tools to join that list.

So this isn’t just another gentle August friendly. For Liverpool, it’s a sharp, awkward test of a system still under construction. For Como, it’s another chance to prove their rapid rise is no fairy tale.

If they leave Anfield with another statement result, the question won’t be whether they can compete in the Champions League. It will be how far, and how fast, this story can go.