Liverpool head coach Andoni Iraola during a training session at AXA Training Centre on July 7 2026
Liverpool head coach Andoni Iraola during a training session at AXA Training Centre on July 7 2026(Image: Andrew Powell/Liverpool FC via Getty Images)
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The games were already decided, now the dates are set. The start to Andoni Iraola's reign as Liverpool head coach in the Premier League has been mapped out.
After a Sunday afternoon visit to Newcastle United on the opening weekend comes a Saturday lunchtime first competitive home game against Nottingham Forest and a Friday night trip to promoted Ipswich Town.
After that is a Saturday afternoon home game against Fulham - now helmed by ex-Liverpool defender Alvaro Arbeloa - before the Reds finish ahead of the extended September international break with Iraola's reunion at former club Bournemouth on a Sunday afternoon.
Emotional narratives aside, it could have been a lot more difficult for the new boss as he takes his first steps in charge. And here our ECHO writers assess what should realistically be expected from those opening five Premier League games.
Paul Gorst
Andoni Iraola could certainly have had an easier introduction to Liverpool life - but a visit to Newcastle United at least kicks things off with a bang on August 23.
A white-hot atmosphere is expected at St James' Park when the Reds make the trip to that port of the North East for the first time in 12 months, since Rio Ngumoha's 100th-minute winner against the 10 men, back when Alexander Isak was still technically a Magpies player.
Newcastle will have a point to prove, you suspect, given how the Isak transfer played out and the fact that the Reds also beat the Magpies to Victor Munoz over the summer. The home fans will certainly make it as uncomfortable as possible for the visiting Reds on the day.
It's a big early test of the current squad's mental strength, something that was heavily questioned last season. Have this squad turned the corner on that front after last season's troubles?
Key to starting off on the right foot for the weeks ahead will be that performance and result, but after that the Reds face three fixtures in a row that it would be fair to deem more straightforward.
A first taste of Anfield against Nottingham Forest will actually see Liverpool attempting to win against the visitors at home for the first time in three seasons but it's a game many will peg Iraola's side as favourites for.
A trip to newly-promoted Ipswich Town and a visit from Fulham are also two games that Liverpool must take full value from but a trip to Bournemouth, Iraola's former club, might be tough.
Now under Marco Rose, the Cherries are becoming known as some of the most astute decision-makers in the Premier League regarding recruitment. In fact, the aggressive approach instilled in them by Iraola, no less, will mean a testing examination awaits before the September international break, even if the new head coach's ideas are yet to truly resonate at the Vitality Stadium.
Points tally: 11 from 15.
Ian Doyle
Andoni Iraola will be forgiven for wondering what exactly he's stepped into when Liverpool begin their season at Newcastle on August 23.
Memories are still raw about the Alexander Isak transfer saga last summer, and with Newcastle having subsequently disappointed even more than Liverpool - and so far this summer in danger of losing some key players - emotions are sure to be running high in a hostile stadium.
It doesn't get much easier after that with the visit of Forest, now under Oliver Glasner. Forest have won on their last two trips to Anfield and Glasner led Crystal Palace to three wins over Liverpool last season.
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Ipswich away looks more appealing but perhaps not under the lights on a Friday night, while there will be a sense of the unknown for the home game against Alvaro Arbeloa's Fulham before the complete opposite - at least for Iraola - at Bournemouth.
Iraola had a tough start to life with the Cherries three years ago when winning only three of his first 14 games in charge. Liverpool can expect a better return this time around but, regardless of who is in charge, the loss of so much experience from the squad will be felt in those early weeks.
A couple of defeats in those opening games is not out of the question as the new head coach tries to implement his ideas. Supporters should get strapped in for what is likely to be a bumpy campaign.
Points tally: 9 from 15.
Richard Garnett
If Liverpool failed to meet expectations last season under Arne Slot, then it is almost impossible to determine what is a realistic expectation of a first season under Andoni Iraola, as the Spaniard sets about implementing his own style of play on a team that didn't know whether it was coming or going in the previous campaign.
What they did manage to do was win their first five league matches; however, I don't see that happening here. The hard-done-by folk of St James' Park will be in no mood to roll out the red carpet for their Merseyside visitors, especially if pantomime villain Alexander Isak starts up front. Given the circumstances, a point would be an acceptable start here.
A lunchtime kick-off against Nottingham Forest has already spoiled the opening home game of the season and having taken points off the Reds on their previous two visits, the combination of their opponents and new manager Oliver Glasner, who did plenty of his own damage to Liverpool with Crystal Palace, is hardly screaming comfortable home win, but I still think Iraola can get the job done.
A Friday night trip to East Anglia is on no one's bucket list, but it shouldn't stop the Reds from picking up their first away win of the season against a newly-promoted side.
At least Fulham at home is a 3pm kick-off, and if we're sticking with traditional values, then a Liverpool home win should be delivered.
A much trickier prospect is Bournemouth away, but if Iraola doesn't know how to get at least a point at the Vitality Stadium, what hope for the rest of us?
Would I be surprised if none of these predictions came to pass? Not in the slightest, but the manager only signed a two-year contract, so it's in his own interests to make a decent start.