Liverpool's New Era Begins Against Newcastle

The Andoni Iraola era starts for real this afternoon, with Liverpool thrown straight into the fire on opening weekend as they head to St James’ Park to face Newcastle United.

Liverpool have ripped up plenty of the old script over the summer. A busy window has reshaped the squad, with a clutch of new arrivals coming through the door and some of the club’s most familiar faces heading out of it. Mohamed Salah has moved on. So has Andy Robertson. Two pillars of the recent past, gone in the same summer.

Into that void step the new names. Victor Munoz and Ronald Araujo have joined to bolster Iraola’s options, and the first big selection calls of the season already loom. At centre-back, Jeremy Jacquet is pushing hard to start, hoping to edge out the more seasoned Araujo for the right to line up alongside Virgil van Dijk in the heart of the defence. For several of Liverpool’s recruits, this could be a baptism under the St James’ Park floodlights.

Newcastle, though, have had their own dose of turbulence.

Eddie Howe departed in July, ending a transformative spell on Tyneside and leaving the club scrambling for a replacement with the new campaign fast approaching. The answer came in the form of Matthias Jaissle, appointed barely three weeks before the season kicked off and tasked with steadying a squad that has been pulled apart in key areas.

Two of Newcastle’s most important players are gone. Sandro Tonali has joined Tottenham. Bruno Guimaraes has left for Arsenal. Those exits have not only stripped quality from Jaissle’s midfield, they have altered the identity of a side that had grown used to controlling matches through that central trio.

Jaissle now walks into a first assignment that is as daunting as it is revealing. Liverpool under Iraola are still a work in progress, their patterns not yet fully bedded in, their hierarchy reshuffled. That uncertainty gives Newcastle a clear opening. In front of a restless, expectant St James’ Park, the new head coach will know his team have the tools to unsettle a Liverpool side still trying to find its rhythm.

The pressure on both dugouts is obvious. Iraola must show that his revamped Liverpool can live without long-time stars and still play with authority. Jaissle has to prove, quickly, that he can knit together a squad that has lost its core and still punch at Premier League level.

What is certain is that the first real judgment on both new eras starts at 4.30pm.

How to watch Newcastle vs Liverpool

TV channel: In the UK, the match will be shown live on Sky Sports Premier League and Sky Sports Main Event, with coverage beginning after the 2pm kick-offs. Kick-off at St James’ Park is at 4.30pm BST.

Live stream: Sky Sports subscribers can also watch the game online via the Sky Go app and website.