Andoni Iraola's Premier League Debut with Liverpool at St James' Park
Andoni Iraola steps into the Premier League spotlight on Sunday, and there are few harsher introductions than a first day out at St James’ Park.
Liverpool’s new manager takes his patched-together squad to Newcastle United knowing exactly what is at stake. A club that finished fifth last season, a fanbase that expects more, and a team that still looks light in key areas. The title is the dream, but for Iraola, year one is really about direction: signs that Liverpool are moving back towards major trophies, even if the squad suggests this will be a season of hard graft rather than instant glory.
Jeremy Jacquet has arrived from Rennes for £60million, the marquee signing whose deal was lined up last year. Ronald Araujo has come in on loan from Barcelona, Victor Munoz from Osasuna. Useful pieces, but no one at Anfield is pretending this rebuild is finished. The attack still needs serious work if Liverpool are going to compete across all competitions.
So the margin for error on Tyneside is small. A poor result in Iraola’s first game and the mood around Anfield could sour quickly. Get it right, and he buys himself time, belief, and noise in his favour. It comes down to selection, and on that front, three calls stand out.
Araujo over Jacquet at centre-back
The temptation will be there. New £60m defender, big stage, statement pick.
Iraola should resist it.
Throwing Jacquet into a Premier League debut at St James’ Park, with the place in full voice, would be a gamble bordering on reckless. The 21-year-old hasn’t played a minute of competitive football since early February. His pre-season amounted to just 45 minutes because of injury. That is not the platform you want for a defender walking into one of the most hostile atmospheres in the league.
Joe Gomez is out, so options are thin. That makes Araujo even more important. The Barcelona loanee only played a half of football in pre-season himself, but his rhythm was there until the end of last season and his career has been built on high-pressure nights in difficult stadiums. Seven years at the Nou Camp, Champions League ties, title races – he knows what it feels like when the temperature rises.
Starting Jacquet would look bold. It would not necessarily be smart. Araujo offers experience, a sense of calm, and a defender used to dealing with chaos. On opening day, that matters more than price tags.
Ngumoha’s moment on the right
If centre-back is an area where caution is needed, the right wing is where Iraola has to be brave.
Rio Ngumoha is only 17. He is raw, inexperienced, and exactly what Liverpool need in that position on Sunday.
Iraola could try to shoehorn Victor Munoz into an unfamiliar wide role, but that would be a compromise. Ngumoha earned his shot during pre-season, catching the eye with his direct running and confidence. He has already shown he can handle this exact fixture: last season he scored the winner at St James’ Park, sliding the ball past Nick Pope at the Leazes End in the 100th minute.
That matters. He has lived that moment, in that stadium, with that noise around him.
With Alexander Isak returning to his former home and the crowd certain to be even more charged, Liverpool need someone on the flank who will not shrink. Ngumoha plays with the kind of fearlessness that can tilt tight games. The risk is obvious. So is the reward.
Mac Allister the big name to miss out
Midfield is where Iraola finally has something resembling depth.
Curtis Jones is expected to head to Inter Milan, but even without him the options are stacked: Alexis Mac Allister, Dominik Szoboszlai, Ryan Gravenberch, Florian Wirtz, Wataru Endo, Harvey Elliott, Trey Nyoni, Stefan Bajcetic. That allows the new manager to experiment, and his first major statement in the middle of the pitch should be to leave Mac Allister out.
The reasoning is cold but clear. The Argentine managed just 54 minutes in pre-season after an extended break following his World Cup efforts. He is not fully up to speed. On top of that, his 2025/26 campaign never really caught fire. There were long spells where he struggled to influence games and the midfield balance often looked off with him in the side.
Iraola has the tools to build something different. A trio of Szoboszlai, Gravenberch and Wirtz offers energy, creativity and legs, with each capable of carrying the ball and pressing high. It is a midfield that fits the intensity Iraola wants and one that can grow together over the season.
Leaving out a World Cup winner on opening day is a big call. It is also exactly the kind of decision that signals a new era and a new hierarchy.
On Sunday, in the noise and hostility of St James’ Park, Iraola’s Liverpool will start to take shape. The choices he makes now will tell everyone how quickly he plans to drag this team back to the very top.
