Liverpool's Defensive Dilemma: Who Partners Van Dijk at St James’ Park?

Andoni Iraola’s Liverpool step into the unknown at St James’ Park on Sunday, and one call towers above the rest before a ball is kicked: who stands next to Virgil van Dijk?

The new head coach has lost Joe Gomez to a pre-season injury and Giovanni Leoni to a long-term problem. That strips the options right back. It’s Araujo or Jeremy Jacquet alongside the captain for day one of this new regime.

Both centre-backs shared the final audition. Each played 45 minutes in the last summer friendly against Como, Jacquet marking his first Anfield appearance with a goal just before the break. A statement, yes. But not the full story.

Jacquet’s summer has been stop–start. Fitness issues dogged his pre-season, and the last six months have been light on competitive minutes after shoulder surgery at Rennes in February. Throwing him straight into one of the most hostile away grounds in the league would be a bold move from Iraola. Maybe too bold.

Araujo carries something Jacquet simply cannot match yet: knowledge of the place. He has already felt the noise and the fury of St James’ Park and shown he can live with it. For a manager about to walk into one of the Premier League’s toughest away fixtures – even with Newcastle’s turbulent summer – that familiarity is gold.

Everything around that central decision feels far more settled. Alisson will anchor the side from goal. Jeremie Frimpong and Milos Kerkez are set to complete the back five, giving Iraola pace and aggression on both flanks.

In midfield, Ryan Gravenberch is expected to line up with Dominik Szoboszlai. Trey Nyoni did plenty to catch the eye in pre-season, but this looks like a day for established operators in the engine room rather than a gamble on youth.

One regular will be nowhere near Tyneside. Curtis Jones has flown to Italy to finalise his move to Inter Milan, removing another familiar name from Liverpool’s core. Alexis Mac Allister, meanwhile, has just 54 pre-season minutes in his legs after an extended post-World Cup break and is not likely to be thrust straight into the starting XI.

Out wide, the market has shaped the plan as much as tactics. With Liverpool not expected to complete deals for Bradley Barcola or Ibrahim Mbaye before Friday’s registration deadline, Iraola is poised to turn to Rio Ngumoha and Cody Gakpo on the flanks. Florian Wirtz should operate in the No10 role, tasked with stitching it all together between the lines.

Then there is the centre-forward story, and it belongs to one man.

Alexander Isak leads the line for Liverpool on his first return to Newcastle since that record £125million move last summer. The fee alone guarantees noise. The manner of the transfer means the reception is likely to be even colder. St James’ Park does not forget quickly, and every touch for Isak is set to be played out against a soundtrack of boos.

A new manager. A reshaped attack. A defensive dilemma built around one of the best centre-backs in the world. Iraola’s Liverpool era starts in the deep end – and his first big selection at St James’ Park will say plenty about how he plans to swim.