Andoni Iraola will take charge of his first Premier League game at Anfield when Liverpool welcome Nottingham Forest on Saturday.
Iraola was given a swift introduction to the unforgiving reality of life in the Liverpool hotseat on Sunday afternoon.
The Reds were forced to rely on a dramatic 99th-minute penalty from Dominik Szoboszlai just to salvage a 2-2 draw against Newcastle United at St James’ Park.
While the Hungarian's ice-cool spot-kick spared Iraola a debut defeat, the performance raised immediate questions over the defensive structure of his new-look side.
Forest’s consecutive defeats to Leeds United in the Premier League and EFL Cup have given Iraola an opportunity to exploit a side still adapting to Oliver Glasner’s methods in the early stages of his tenure.
However, Forest have rarely made life easy for Liverpool in recent meetings, including a 3-0 victory at Anfield last season.
There is also an intriguing tactical subplot with Liverpool’s history against Glasner’s system before, suffering three consecutive defeats against his Crystal Palace side last season before finally beating them in their most recent meeting.
With Federico Chiesa, Joe Gomez and Harvey Elliott all left out of proceedings at St. James Park due to fitness issues or transfer speculation. Again, I wouldn’t expect the trio to feature against Forest, with Gomez and Chiesa also absent from training.
With Iraola potentially considering changes, here is how Liverpool could line up in a 4-2-3-1:
Defence
After conceding twice from Newcastle counterattacks, Alisson Becker is expected to start over Giorgi Mamardashvili once again.
Milos Kerkez should retain his place at left-back, with Jeremie Frimpong completing the full-back pairing. Both endured difficult opening games and were booked, but Liverpool’s lack of depth makes changes unlikely.
That could leave Liverpool vulnerable to Forest’s transitions. Iraola’s aggressive system asks his full-backs to push forward, potentially leaving space behind them for Forest’s two No.10s, likely Dan Ndoye and Morgan Gibbs-White, to attack.
Virgil van Dijk is an obvious starter, but his partner remains less certain.
Jeremy Jacquet impressed during his 70 minutes against Newcastle, looking composed in possession and capable of dealing with the Premier League level. Ronald Araújo was also solid after coming on, but Jacquet should get another opportunity to build a partnership with Van Dijk, with Araújo providing a strong option from the bench.
Midfield
Liverpool are likely to stick with Ryan Gravenberch as the No.6 and Dominik Szoboszlai as the No.8.
Gravenberch's positioning was questionable in both Newcastle goals, losing possession in advanced areas and leaving space behind him. Alexis Mac Allister therefore provides a tempting alternative, particularly if Iraola wants greater control.
However, Gravenberch is still likely to get the nod as he continues to develop his understanding of Iraola’s system, while Szoboszlai should retain his place ahead of him.
Florian Wirtz should therefore continue as the No.10 despite his disappointing performance at Newcastle.
His role could be particularly important against Forest’s 3-4-2-1. If Liverpool can stretch the back three with their wingers and overlapping full-backs, Wirtz should find opportunities to operate in the half-spaces, where he can receive between the lines and turn towards goal.
Attack
Alexander Isak should lead the line again, although his selection is more a consequence of Liverpool’s limited alternatives than his performance against Newcastle.
He needs to be far more productive, but Forest’s back three could offer him opportunities if he varies his movement. Dropping towards the midfield can drag a centre-back forward, while staying high can pin the defence and create room for Wirtz and the wingers to attack.
Cody Gakpo should retain his place on the left after scoring against Newcastle. Rio Ngumoha struggled to have the same influence when deployed on the right, so I would expect Iraola to return him to the bench rather than repeat the experiment.
Victor Muñoz, meanwhile, has a genuine chance of making his first start on the right. His late cameo against Newcastle saw him win the penalty for Liverpool’s equaliser, while his natural position and willingness to cover ground make him a better fit for the role.
Muñoz could also complement Frimpong particularly well. If the winger holds the width, Frimpong can overlap or attack the space inside; alternatively, Muñoz can move into the half-space and allow Frimpong to provide width.
Predicted XI
Ultimately, I would expect Iraola to make only one major change from the side that started at Newcastle, with Muñoz coming in on the right.
Alisson, Kerkez, Van Dijk (C), Jacquet, Frimpong, Gravenberch, Szoboszlai, Wirtz, Gakpo, Muñoz, Isak.
It would be a relatively conservative selection from Iraola, but one that gives Liverpool another opportunity to build consistency within his 4-2-3-1.
The key will be whether Liverpool can combine their attacking rotations with enough defensive security to prevent Forest exploiting the spaces left behind. If they can do that, Wirtz and the three attackers should have the freedom to test a Forest defence still learning Glasner’s system.
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