Liverpool Faces Challenge from Fearless Como at Anfield
Liverpool’s final dress rehearsal before the Premier League kicks off is not the gentle tune‑up it might look like on paper. Como 1907 arrive at Anfield with momentum, goals and a growing reputation for bloodying bigger noses – and this one could get uncomfortable for Andoni Iraola.
The two clubs will actually face each other twice on Sunday, with an earlier game preceding the main clash, and the stands will be empty. No Kop, no noise, no usual surge of energy. For once, Anfield offers little more than a neutral stage.
Liverpool still searching for rhythm
Iraola is only just settling into the home dugout and it shows. Liverpool’s pre-season has flashed attacking promise but raised real questions at the back. The squad is still absorbing new ideas, and a slow summer in the transfer market has not exactly calmed nerves.
Defensively, the picture is messy. Conor Bradley, Giovanni Leoni and Joe Gomez are all sidelined, leaving the back line stripped of depth. New arrival Jeremy Jacquet has only just rejoined training and is unlikely to be risked, so Barcelona loanee Ronald Araujo is expected to start as part of a new centre-back pairing that is still learning each other’s movements.
The numbers are stark: seven goals conceded in the last two outings. Leeds turned a 2-0 deficit into a 4-2 win, following on from another defeat to opposition Liverpool were fancied to beat. Those collapses will not have gone unnoticed in the Como camp.
Going forward, though, the Reds still carry a threat. They’ve hit nine goals in four pre-season matches, with Alexander Isak and Florian Wirtz both finding the net in their latest run-out. Dominik Szoboszlai is another obvious danger, drifting between the lines and striking from range.
A likely Liverpool XI reads strong on paper: Alisson; Frimpong, Araujo, Van Dijk, Kerkez; Szoboszlai, Gravenberch, Chiesa; Wirtz, Gakpo, Isak. It’s an elite side. But it’s also a side in transition.
Como’s remarkable rise – and real belief
On the opposite bench, Cesc Fabregas has every reason to be satisfied. Como finished fourth in Serie A last season, clinching a historic first-ever Champions League qualification just seven years after playing in Serie D. The climb has been steep and relentless.
Their pre-season form has matched the story. Five friendlies, no defeats inside 90 minutes, and 10 goals scored in that stretch. They’ve been busy, sharp and ambitious.
The standout result came at the Emirates on Wednesday night. Against Premier League champions Arsenal, Como went toe-to-toe and walked away level after 90 minutes. That performance will travel with them to Anfield.
Fabregas is expected to send out a side of Butez; Couto, Ramon, Kempf, Valle; Da Cunha, Perrone, Liberali; Baturina, Diao, Douvikas. It’s a team that presses, runs and attacks with confidence. Martin Baturina pulls strings in advanced areas, while Anastasios Douvikas offers a constant goal threat up front.
Goals almost guaranteed
Both sides come into this with a clear pattern: they score, and they get scored on.
Three of Liverpool’s four pre-season games have seen both teams on the scoresheet. All five of Como’s friendlies have produced goals at both ends. With Liverpool’s defence unsettled and Como in such free-scoring form, another open contest feels almost inevitable.
Behind closed doors, the usual suffocating Anfield atmosphere disappears. That should allow Como to settle quickly, hold the ball and commit bodies forward without the usual psychological weight. Liverpool’s attack will still ask serious questions, but shutting out the Italians looks a tall order.
A 2-2 draw feels entirely plausible. Szoboszlai and Isak are obvious candidates to strike for Liverpool, while Baturina and Douvikas have the form and confidence to punish any hesitation at the other end.
An upset on the cards?
Strip away the crowd, add Liverpool’s defensive frailty and Como’s momentum, and this suddenly looks like one of the best chances any visiting side will get to leave Anfield smiling.
Liverpool have lost two in a row, both against beatable opposition, and both in ways that will trouble Iraola. Como, by contrast, are riding a five-game unbeaten run in regulation time and have scored at least twice in three of those fixtures.
That combination makes the Italians dangerous. They don’t need to dominate to hurt you; they just need space around an untested centre-back pairing. With Monaco and Leeds both breaching Liverpool’s defence multiple times, Fabregas’ side will feel this is their moment to do the same.
So while Liverpool remain favourites on paper, the smarter view is more cautious. A draw or even a Como win inside 90 minutes cannot be dismissed as a shock for the ages. It’s well within the range of outcomes.
Where this leaves Liverpool
This is supposed to be the final tune-up before the real stuff begins. Instead, it could become a stress test of Liverpool’s new era under Iraola.
If Como find the gaps and hit the two-goal mark again, the warning lights around Liverpool’s back line will flash even brighter. If the Reds respond with control and authority, the narrative shifts.
For a pre-season friendly behind closed doors, there’s an edge to this one. Not just about the scoreline, but about what it says of Liverpool’s readiness – and whether a newly fearless Como are about to announce themselves again on one of European football’s most famous stages.
