Liverpool’s Home Return Comes With A Patched Up Squad To Manage

Liverpool’s first home league game of the season arrives with a shorter squad list than Andoni Iraola would like, and in our view that context matters as much as the opponent. Forest have already won their last two visits to Anfield, and a head coach dealing with five absentees does not want that record extending to three.

The fresh worry is Chiesa, not Alisson

There has been online chatter about Alisson Becker this week, and it is worth being clear about it. Iraola has given no indication of a fresh issue there, so treat that particular rumour as noise rather than news. The genuine update concerns Federico Chiesa, who picked up a muscle problem during the pre-season game against Como and will not be involved. Iraola described it as a minor issue picked up at the back of the leg, which at least suggests this should not drag on for months.

A longer term list Iraola cannot avoid

The rest of the absentee list is more familiar and considerably less short term. Conor Bradley and Hugo Ekitike remain out, with both expected to be missing for a matter of months rather than weeks. Giovanni Leoni has still not returned to full training as far as we are aware, and there is nothing to suggest that changes imminently. Joe Gomez completes the list, still working his way back after being forced off early in Liverpool’s opening pre-season fixture against Sunderland.

None of this excuses a poor result on Saturday, and we do not think Iraola would want it to. Liverpool still have enough in the squad to beat a Forest side that, for all their recent success at Anfield, arrived into this season with defeats in both the Premier League and the EFL Cup against Leeds United under Oliver Glasner. That form gives Liverpool no divine right to anything, but it does suggest Forest are not unbeatable simply because of how the last two meetings at Anfield went.

Control is the priority, not excuses

What Iraola needs from his available players is control. Quicker ball movement, discipline defending transitions, and a start sharp enough to put Forest on the back foot rather than letting them dictate tempo again. A patched up squad is not a good excuse for a passive performance, and this Liverpool group should have enough quality to make sure the absentees are a footnote rather than the story that gets told after full time.