Liverpool Seek First League Win at Anfield Against Nottingham Forest
Liverpool step out at Anfield for their first home Premier League game of the season on Saturday, still hunting that elusive opening victory under Andoni Iraola after a frantic 2-2 draw away to Newcastle.
Nottingham Forest arrive with bruises from an opening defeat to Leeds United, but also with a recent record on this ground that gives them just enough encouragement to be dangerous.
Liverpool’s selection puzzle
Iraola’s options are already stretched.
Conor Bradley, Hugo Ekitiké, Joe Gomez, Jayden Danns and Giovanni Leoni are all ruled out through injury. Curtis Jones is battling a groin problem and faces a race against time to be involved.
The headline name, Bradley Barcola, is unlikely to be more than a subplot. His £120 million move from Paris Saint-Germain is close, but even if the paperwork lands in time, Liverpool do not expect the forward to feature this weekend. Ipswich Town away next week is the more realistic stage for his debut.
One new face who has already made an impact is Victor Muñoz. Thrown on at Newcastle, he drove at tired legs, drew the stoppage-time penalty and salvaged a point. That cameo has forced his way into Iraola’s thinking.
The back four is also under review. Jérémy Jacquet is in line to continue alongside Virgil van Dijk, but Iraola is tipped to tweak at least one position in defence as he searches for more control than Liverpool showed at St James’ Park.
Muñoz’s surge off the bench has put him in serious contention to start, potentially at the expense of Rio Ngumoha. The teenager, who turns 18 on matchday, impressed with his fearlessness but may now give way to the greater physicality and penalty-box threat of Muñoz.
Up the left, Cody Gakpo has given Iraola no reason to change. He scored against Newcastle and, despite ongoing transfer noise linking him with Tottenham and Manchester City, is expected to keep his place. For now, Liverpool plan with him, not around his exit.
In midfield, Ryan Gravenberch and Dominik Szoboszlai look set to continue as the double pivot, tasked with knitting together Iraola’s aggressive pressing game and feeding a front line built around Alexander Isak. The Swede led the line at Newcastle and is again the reference point for Liverpool’s attacking play.
Predicted Liverpool XI
Iraola is likely to stick with his 4-2-3-1 shape:
Alisson; Frimpong, Van Dijk, Jacquet, Kerkez; Gravenberch, Szoboszlai; Muñoz, Wirtz, Gakpo; Isak.
It is a side heavy on technical quality and forward runners, but still learning its manager’s demands. Anfield expects the learning curve to steepen quickly.
Kick-off and TV details
The match kicks off at 12:30 on Saturday, 29 August 2026.
In the UK, Liverpool vs Nottingham Forest will be shown live on TNT Sports 1 and TNT Sports Ultimate.
Anfield has waited all summer for its first look at Iraola’s Liverpool. Forest know that if they can silence it early, the tension will do the rest.
