Liverpool Seek First Home Win Under Iraola Against Fulham
Anfield expects goals. It has had plenty already this season. What it has not seen yet under Andoni Iraola in the Premier League is a home win.
That is the mission on Saturday when Liverpool welcome Fulham, with the new manager looking to turn encouraging attacking numbers into something more tangible on the table.
Iraola’s Liverpool look to turn style into points
Liverpool have hit at least two goals in every league outing so far, a clear sign that Iraola’s high-tempo, front-foot ideas have taken hold quickly. They arrive at the weekend buoyed by a Champions League victory over Atletico Madrid, a result that carried both weight and validation for the new regime.
The numbers say they are dangerous. The league table still says they are short of rewards.
Fulham arrive without a point but not without credit. Iraola’s assessment of Saturday’s opponents was pointed and respectful: they have “been so good” in each of their league fixtures, yet lost all three by a single goal. Narrow margins, repeated three times. The sort of story that can flip in an instant if you let standards drop.
Anfield has seen enough awkward afternoons against supposedly vulnerable visitors to know this is no formality.
Team news: injuries bite, chances open
Iraola will again be without several senior options. Conor Bradley, Giovanni Leoni, Hugo Ekitike, Joe Gomez and Federico Chiesa all remain sidelined, trimming his options at the back and in attack.
Cody Gakpo is a doubt with an adductor issue, a concern given his ability to knit together Liverpool’s forward play. Bradley Barcola and Milos Kerkez both needed treatment for cramp during the midweek win over Atletico Madrid, but the club do not believe either has suffered a more serious problem.
If neither Gakpo nor Barcola is passed fit, the door opens for Victor Munoz. The winger is primed to step in on the flank, joining Florian Wirtz and Rio Ngumoha in the band of three behind Alexander Isak.
That trio, on paper, offers a sharp mix: Wirtz’s craft between the lines, Ngumoha’s direct running, Munoz’s work rate and width. Behind them, Iraola’s double pivot of Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai should again set the tempo, tasked with both protecting the back four and feeding the forward line quickly.
At the heart of the defence, Virgil van Dijk is expected to marshal a unit that includes Araujo, Jacquet and Kostas Tsimikas in a 4-2-3-1 shape, with Alisson the ever-present anchor in goal.
Isak chasing a landmark already
All eyes will inevitably drift towards Isak. The striker has settled quickly into Iraola’s system and already carries the look of Liverpool’s primary finisher.
One more goal on Saturday would take him beyond his entire league tally from last season. That statistic underlines both his sharp start and the expectation now building around him. In a side that has already proved it can create chances, Isak’s form could define how quickly Liverpool climb.
If he gets the service Wirtz and company can provide, Fulham’s back line will have little room for error.
Predicted Liverpool XI vs Fulham
Liverpool expected XI (4-2-3-1):
- Alisson;
- Araujo, Jacquet, Van Dijk, Tsimikas;
- Mac Allister, Szoboszlai;
- Munoz, Wirtz, Ngumoha;
- Isak.
Kick-off details and TV information
The game kicks off at 15:00 on Saturday, 12 September 2026, at Anfield.
The fixture falls inside the traditional Saturday 3pm blackout, so it will not be broadcast live on television in the UK.
So the stage is set: an unbeaten attack, a new manager chasing his first home league win, and a Fulham side better than their record suggests. Does Anfield get the statement result it craves, or does another tight contest leave Iraola still searching?
