Iraola's Tough Start with Liverpool: Facing Tottenham in the Carabao Cup
Andoni Iraola did not bother dressing it up. Liverpool, unbeaten yet unconvincing, are walking into what he calls the “worst scenario” of their early season.
A summer of upheaval, a new head coach, and four Premier League games that have produced more questions than answers. Yes, Liverpool have avoided defeat. But three draws from four, capped by a flat 0-0 at Anfield against Fulham, have dulled the optimism that greeted Iraola’s arrival.
Now comes Tottenham in the Carabao Cup on Tuesday night. A cup tie under the lights, with a fanbase demanding a response and a coach who knows he has to tweak, rotate and, in some cases, gamble.
Mamardashvili to start as Iraola shuffles the pack
The first big call comes in goal. Giorgi Mamardashvili will start, with Alisson Becker stepping aside for the night.
“Yes. Alisson is proven, there are little doubts, he is playing very well,” Iraola told reporters, making clear this is rotation, not a demotion.
But he wants to see more of his No.2.
“I rate Giorgi very highly, I know him from his years also in Spain. We told him we tried to sign him for Bournemouth before I came here, he is a very good ‘keeper. He is going to start tomorrow.”
This is exactly the kind of game where a manager learns what his squad really looks like beyond the first XI. Mamardashvili’s chance arrives not in pre-season or a dead rubber, but in a live contest against top-tier opposition. Iraola wants evidence. The Georgian now has the stage.
Mixed news at the back
Around him, the defensive picture is slowly clearing, but not without frustration.
“Joe [Gomez] is training with the team and is available for tomorrow. It’s a matter of deciding how much he can play, or what the best thing is for him,” Iraola said.
Gomez’s return gives Liverpool some much-needed flexibility, especially in a period where the schedule is compressing and the margins for error are shrinking. How long he plays, and in what role, will be handled carefully.
The news on Conor Bradley is less encouraging.
“He is not close to training with the team,” Iraola admitted. “He is training alone, but he has started touching the ball. Definitely I want him back as soon as possible.”
Bradley’s absence has been a quiet but significant loss, particularly for a coach who values energy and aggression from his full-backs. There is at least a small step forward: ball work has begun, the long road back has a starting point.
“Leoni is a little bit ahead of him and it is going to take some time for sure,” Iraola added, underlining that neither option is an immediate solution to his depth issues in defence.
“Worst scenario” schedule as Iraola tests his squad
The bigger storm, though, is the calendar.
“It’s the third game, it’s the worst scenario in terms of schedule, we haven’t been lucky,” Iraola said of this stretch, with Liverpool squeezed by quick turnarounds and little recovery time.
After Tottenham, there is finally a slight breather before Bournemouth. Earlier in the season, gaps between Ipswich and Atletico, and then Atletico and Fulham, gave Iraola a glimpse of what his side can look like with five days’ rest instead of two or three.
The difference, he insists, is “massive”.
“It is what it is. After the international break we have four games in ten days, so we have to get used to it.”
That is the core of his problem. He cannot simply pick the same players every time and hope their legs hold.
“You can put the same players in every game. The problem is there will be a moment they are very tired and there is more risk of injury.
“But there are players who play every three days and have no issues, they can accept it and performances don’t change too much. Then there are other players where the risk is bigger and the performances are different.”
This is the learning curve Iraola is on now. Not tactics, not philosophy, but durability.
“And I am in a position where I have to learn who is ready to play every two or three days and who is ready to rest so their performance level doesn’t drop. I had an idea with some of them, but for some of them it is new as they haven’t played as many games and we are learning.”
Liverpool’s new era was never going to be judged on four league games and an early-round cup tie. But nights like this, with rotation in goal, returning defenders, and a manager openly wrestling with the schedule, will shape what this team becomes.
Tottenham at Anfield will not just test Liverpool’s cup ambitions. It will test Iraola’s early read on his squad — and reveal who can truly live with the rhythm of playing every two or three days in a season that is only just starting to bite.
