Liverpool Faces Fixture Chaos: Iraola's Trust in Mamardashvili
Andoni Iraola did not bother dressing it up. Liverpool, still unbeaten, are already living in what he calls the “worst scenario”.
Four league games into the 2026/27 season, the numbers are deceptive. No defeats, yes, but three draws from four and a flat 0-0 at home to Fulham have drained some of the early optimism around the new era. The football has flickered without fully catching fire. The schedule, though, is already blazing.
On Tuesday night, Tottenham arrive at Anfield in the Carabao Cup, and Iraola will use the tie to shake his team up. Rotation is not a luxury now. It is a necessity.
Mamardashvili to start as Alisson rests
The biggest call comes in goal. Alisson Becker, the undisputed No.1 and one of the most reliable figures in the squad, will step aside for Giorgi Mamardashvili.
“Yes. Alisson is proven, there are little doubts, he is playing very well,” Iraola said, before turning to the man who will replace him. “I rate Giorgi very highly, I know him from his years also in Spain. We told him we tried to sign him for Bournemouth before I came here, he is a very good ‘keeper. He is going to start tomorrow.”
It is a clear show of trust in Mamardashvili, and a nod to the reality of Liverpool’s calendar. Alisson will be needed fresh for the grind to come. The Georgian, who has been waiting patiently, now gets his first real chance to stake a claim in front of the Kop.
Defensive updates: Gomez back, Bradley and Leoni on different paths
At the back, there is at least one piece of good news. Joe Gomez is ready to return.
“Joe is training with the team and is available for tomorrow,” Iraola confirmed. “It’s a matter of deciding how much he can play, or what the best thing is for him.”
That last line is telling. Availability is one thing, throwing a player straight into a demanding run of fixtures is another. Tottenham in the cup, Bournemouth in the league, and then a brutal stretch after the international break mean Liverpool cannot afford to lose Gomez again.
On the opposite flank, the picture is less encouraging. Conor Bradley is still some way off.
“He is not close to training with the team,” Iraola said. “He is training alone, but he has started touching the ball. Definitely I want him back as soon as possible.”
There is a slight contrast with Leoni, who is a step ahead in his recovery but still facing a long road.
“Leoni is a little bit ahead of him and it is going to take some time for sure.”
The message is blunt: reinforcements are coming, but not quickly. For now, Iraola must juggle what he has.
Fixture chaos and Liverpool’s “worst scenario”
If the Fulham stalemate hinted at heavy legs, Iraola did not hide behind excuses. He did, however, spell out the strain his squad is already under.
“It’s the third game, it’s the worst scenario in terms of schedule, we haven’t been lucky,” he admitted of this current run.
He pointed to the difference a few days can make. Between Ipswich and Atletico Madrid, and then Atletico and Fulham, Liverpool had a bit more breathing space. This week is different.
“Five days in comparison to two to three days is a massive difference,” he said. “It is what it is. After the international break we have four games in ten days, so we have to get used to it.”
This is the reality he has walked into: Premier League, Europe, domestic cups, and an expectation that Liverpool compete deep into every competition. The “worst scenario” is not a complaint about the job. It is a warning about the cost.
Learning who can go every three days
The real challenge for Iraola now is not just tactical. It is physiological and psychological. Who can live with the rhythm of elite football every 72 hours? Who cannot?
“You can put the same players in every game,” he said. “The problem is there will be a moment they are very tired and there is more risk of injury.”
Some players, he knows, can handle it. “There are players who play every three days and have no issues, they can accept it and performances don’t change too much. Then there are other players where the risk is bigger and the performances are different.”
This is the learning curve for a new manager in a new dressing room. Iraola arrived with ideas, but not with an intimate knowledge of how each body reacts to the grind.
“I am in a position where I have to learn who is ready to play every two or three days and who is ready to rest so their performance level doesn’t drop,” he explained. “I had an idea with some of them, but for some of them it is new as they haven’t played as many games and we are learning.”
Tottenham in the Carabao Cup will give him more answers. Mamardashvili’s debut, Gomez’s minutes, the balance between freshness and continuity – all of it feeds into a bigger picture.
Liverpool are unbeaten, but unsettled. The schedule will not ease. The question now is simple: how quickly can Iraola work out which players can carry this season on their backs, and which ones need saving from it?
