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Key events
3 min: Frimpong one-twos with Wirtz down the right. A lovely reverse wedged pass from Wirtz. Munoz and Isak are in the middle, but Frimpong’s cross is no good. Lovely start to the move, though.
2 min: Forest have started confidently, hogging possession for the first couple of minutes. They haven’t silenced the home crowd yet, but a few more minutes of this might start a bit of concerned muttering. You know how people fret.
Forest get the game started. The ball sails out of play on the left. And while we’re mentioning tributes, Forest fans earlier laid flowers at the Hillsborough memorial to pay their respects.
The teams are out! Liverpool all in red, Forest wearing a third-choice shirt that looks awfully like a recent Manchester City number. You’ll Never Walk Alone rings out, as Liverpool principal owner John Henry and the new vice-chairman Amit Bhatia watch from the stand. We’ll be off in a minute … and that minute will see fans remember the legendary Kevin Keegan, the star of Bill Shankly’s second great team, who recently passed. The warmest applause from all four corners of the ground, a mosaic on the Kop that reads KEVIN 7, and a chant of One Kevin Keegan.
On the subject of Forest and big-money transfers … David Ornstein of the Athletic was on TNT Sports earlier, reporting the possibility of their buying 19-year-old midfield prospect Harrison Armstrong from Everton for £40m. Should that come to pass, it’ll probably result in the Hill Dickinson toppling into the Mersey, but only after the whole structure is launched a couple of miles into the air by the steam from Everton supporters’ lugs. Armstrong is extremely highly rated, but Forest have pockets full of cash after selling Elliot Anderson to Manchester City, so this one is worth keeping an eye on.
Oliver Glasner – who has yet to get the best of former Bournemouth boss Andoni Iraola in the personal head-to-head (P5 W0 D3 L2) – speaks to TNT Sports. “The biggest improvement is we need a goal to win the game … this is what we want to do … of course Liverpool, always playing at Anfield is very challenging … but maybe a new manager with new ideas, all is not settled 100 percent … that is similar to us … [Liam Delap] had one training session with the team … but it’s great to have him here … let’s see how the game is going … let’s see how the game is going but there is a good chance to see him.”
Pre-match postbag. “As a Liverpool fan I’m happy to have Iraola, but shudder at what must be a bit of a mess of a team upstairs. It’s seems ridiculous that we we have such a wealth of attacking talent, yet all of them are either injured or have been out of form/sorts/not fitting the system for a long time (a season in the case of Isak and Wirtz). In that context, I get why we’ve gone for Barcola (and am enjoying the Barr Cola memes) but I really really wish we’d buy some defenders. I doubt Arsenal will sell Zubimendi, I wouldn’t say no to him either. As much as some of us would love Trent back, I don’t see that happening. Expect we’re in for another transition season. At least with Iraola it won’t be dull” – Tony Barr (no relation)
“Liverpool need at least eight new starting XI players before they even start looking at squad members; Iraola’s gonna seriously regret going up there” – Dave Estherby
“Good to see Liverpool have learnt their lessons from last summer then. £123m for Barcola is ridiculous” – Joshua Keeling
Barcola will certainly be put to work when he arrives at Anfield. Iraola sets out the load with this pace-and-eyebrow-raising manifesto.
“For me, wingers, forwards, I always tell them that they don’t need to give us 90 minutes. I tell them it is good news when they are exhausted because then we have taken everything from you and someone else will come in.”
A Spanish take on Jurgen Klopp’s heavy metal. Flamenco? The Basque tradition of trikitixa? Probably need to think about this some more. Or never again.
Iraola will have another nice selection problem soon. News broke this morning of Liverpool finalising a deal, at long last, for PSG winger Bradley Barcola. Once the last hoop has been jumped through – a medical this weekend – one of the summer’s most tedious … no, let’s be nice … slowly unfolding tales will come to its natural end.
Andoni Iraola takes charge of his first competitive match at Anfield as Liverpool manager this lunchtime, and he speaks to TNT Sports. “Emotional in my case … obviously it’s a game we want to win … you are focusing on the pitch … but for me it’s a special game, definitely, yes … it has to be difficult for me to choose a starting XI … what changes we can make in the second half … what the subs can provide … they were important against Newcastle and I hope today they are also important.”
Liverpool make two changes to the side that drew 2-2 at Newcastle United last weekend. Alexis Mac Allister replaces Ryan Gravenberch in midfield, while Victor Munoz makes his full debut by taking over stand-in duties on the right wing from Rio Ngumoha. Cody Gakpo, who impressed last weekend but is now the subject of a £70m bid from Tottenham, retains his place amid the chatter.
Nottingham Forest make one change to the team that lost 1-0 on the opening day at home to Leeds United. Ibrahim Sangaré is injured and so makes way in midfield for Xaver Schlager, who makes his first Premier League start. Liam Delap, their new £50m signing from Chelsea, starts on the bench.
The teams
Liverpool: Alisson, Frimpong, Jacquet, van Dijk, Kerkez, Szoboszlai, Mac Allister, Munoz, Wirtz, Gakpo, Isak.
Subs: Mamardashvili, Endo, Tsimikas, Araujo, Gravenberch, Nyoni, McConnell, Koumas, Ngumoha.
Nottingham Forest: Sels, Cunha, Milenkovic, Murillo, Aina, Schlager, McAtee, Williams, Ndoye, Gibbs-White, Igor Jesus.
Subs: John Victor, Diomande, Hudson-Odoi, Dominguez, Wood, Delap, Yates, Netz, Abbott.
Referee: Sam Barrott
VAR: Michael Oliver
Preamble
On days like these, Arne Slot will be thankful that Liverpool gave him the old heave-ho. Because this specific fixture messed with his mind something chronic. In an otherwise sensational start to his time with the Reds – 18 wins out of his first 20 games – the one L blotting up Slot’s landscape was Nottingham Forest at Anfield. Liverpool had 70 percent of possession that September afternoon in 2024, but Forest soaked it up and Callum Hudson-Odoi scored a wonderful winner on the counter. Slot never stopped referencing it, an itch he couldn’t scratch.
The following autumn, Forest rocked up at Anfield again, and this time routed Slot’s side 3-0. That was part of a different kind of sensational sequence – nine losses in 12 – from which his reign never recovered. So Liverpool fans can be forgiven for approaching this match with caution and concern, and that’s before we get to their disjointed performance at Newcastle last week, and the fact that Oliver Glasner (P7 W4 D1 with Crystal Palace) seemingly has their number. Having said all that, Forest haven’t exactly flown out of the traps under their new boss, with back-to-back losses to Leeds in league and cup, and there’s one other famous staging of this fixture that will give Liverpool fans hope. So this isn’t an easy one to predict. Kick-off is at 12.30pm BST. It’s on!
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