Liverpool v Nottingham Forest preview: Can Iraola get first win as Reds boss on full Anfield bow? | OneFootball

Andoni Iraola will take charge of his first official home match as Liverpool head coach when they face Nottingham Forest at Anfield on Saturday.

The Basque had to settle for a draw on the opening weekend of the Premier League season and would ultimately have been grateful for that point as Dominik Szoboszlai converted a 99th-minute penalty at Newcastle.

It’s still one more than Oliver Glasner’s side managed from their opener against Leeds, who claimed victory at the City Ground with a late goal from Anton Stach.

If you’d like to bet on football tonight (or, as they say in Thailand, แทงบอลคืนนี้, then check out the latest odds on Liverpool v Nottingham Forest from footballbet.eu.com; but first, have a read of our preview of the fixture as we identify some of the key battles which could shape the final result.

Liverpool v Nottingham Forest – Three key battles

Virgil van Dijk v Igor Jesus

Forest’s Brazilian centre-forward plundered 16 goals across all competitions in his debut season in English football and has proven to be quite a handful for the Tricky Trees.

Liverpool captain Van Dijk will be tasked with shackling the threat of the 25-year-old, in tandem with his centre-back partner (most likely Jeremy Jacquet).

(Photo by Molly Darlington/Getty Images)

Full-backs v wing-backs

Glasner’s well-known preference for a wing-back formation will give Neco Williams and Ola Aina plenty of licence to get forward, something that Liverpool full-backs Milos Kerkez and Jeremie Frimpong also like to do.

The Reds duo came in for criticism over their performances against Newcastle and could do with showing an immediate improvement on Saturday, if they’re selected.

Alexander Isak v Murillo

The Swedish striker has also been under the microscope after a subdued outing on his return to St James’ Park – at least this time he’ll have vocal backing from the home support at Anfield, rather than the inevitably hostile reception he received from the natives on Tyneside.

He’ll need to be at his sharpest to get the better of Murillo, a man mountain of a defender who’s thrived in both penalty boxes against Liverpool over the last couple of years.

The Glasner factor

The Reds are ordinarily expected to win at Anfield, especially against opponents who finished 16th in th previous campaign, but Forest are actually going for their third consecutive victory at the Merseyside venue after 1-0 and 3-0 wins on their two most recent visits.

(Photo by David Rogers/Getty Images)

The Garibaldi also now have a coach with an uncannily good record in L4 – Glasner has won twice and drawn once in his four visits to Anfield with Crystal Palace, including a 3-0 hiding in the Carabao Cup last season.

The Austrian got the better of us three times in 2025/26 (including the Community Shield), so despite his team’s losing start to this campaign, he won’t have any inhibitions about travelling to face Liverpool.

Verdict

From what we’ve seen of Iraola’s Reds so far, we can expect plenty of goals at both ends of the pitch. His team are capable of scintillating attacking brilliance but also susceptible to being picked off with ease at the back, so we can’t see too many predicting a 0-0 stalemate here.

We’ll go with a narrow and probably chaotic 3-2 home win for Liverpool, albeit that it’s a forecast not made with supreme confidence.