Iraola Faces Tough Challenge as Liverpool Prepare for Tottenham
Andoni Iraola did not bother dressing it up. Liverpool, still unbeaten, are stuck in what he calls “the worst scenario”.
Four league games, three draws, and a flat 0-0 at home to Fulham have taken some of the early-season shine off his tenure. The football has flickered without fully catching fire, and now the fixture list is tightening its grip.
On Tuesday night, Tottenham arrive at Anfield in the Carabao Cup. Iraola needs a response. He will also use it as a laboratory.
Mamardashvili to start as Iraola rotates
One of the headline decisions is in goal. Alisson Becker remains the undisputed No.1, but he will sit this one out.
“Yes. Alisson is proven, there are little doubts, he is playing very well,” Iraola told reporters, making it clear this is rotation, not revolution.
The door opens for Giorgi Mamardashvili.
“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 significant show of faith. A domestic cup tie against a top-six rival, under the Anfield lights, is not a gentle introduction. Iraola, though, wants to see how his squad copes when the games start piling up and the margins shrink.
Mixed news at the back
At the other end of the pitch, Liverpool’s defensive picture is slowly clearing, but not completely.
“Joe [Gomez] is training with the team and is available for tomorrow. It’s a matter of deciding how much he can play, or what the best thing is for him,” Iraola said.
Gomez’s return gives the head coach another option in a back line that has already been shuffled more than he would like this early in the season.
The right flank, though, remains a concern. Conor Bradley is still some way off.
“He is not close to training with the team. He is training alone, but he has started touching the ball. Definitely I want him back as soon as possible,” Iraola admitted.
The update on Leoni is only slightly more encouraging.
“Leoni is a little bit ahead of him and it is going to take some time for sure.”
So while Gomez edges back into contention, Iraola must continue to manage without two other defensive options as the schedule tightens.
‘Worst scenario’ as schedule bites
If the Fulham stalemate felt like a missed opportunity, the bigger problem for Iraola is what comes next. The matches are arriving with barely any breathing space.
“It’s the third game, it’s the worst scenario in terms of schedule, we haven’t been lucky,” he said of this run.
The contrast is stark in his mind. When Liverpool had five days between Ipswich and Atletico, and again between Atletico and Fulham, the difference in intensity and freshness was obvious to him.
“Five days in comparison to two to three days is a massive difference.
“It is what it is. After the international break we have four games in ten days, so we have to get used to it.”
That is the reality of managing Liverpool in this era: league, Europe, domestic cups, international breaks slicing up preparation time. Iraola knows he cannot simply lean on the same XI every time.
“You can put the same players in every game. The problem is there will be a moment they are very tired and there is more risk of injury.”
Some players, he accepts, are built for this rhythm.
“But 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 crux of his early months at Anfield. He is not just learning a club; he is learning a squad’s limits.
“And 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. 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.”
Unbeaten, but unconvincing. Rotating, but not yet fully trusting. Tottenham, the Carabao Cup and a restless Anfield will tell him a little more about who can live with this storm – and who cannot.
