Liverpool vs Como: Key Pre-Season Clash at Anfield
Liverpool’s final dress rehearsal before the Premier League curtain goes up is no gentle warm‑up. Not this time. Not with Como 1907 rolling into Anfield full of belief, momentum and a growing reputation for upsetting the script.
The two clubs will actually meet twice on Sunday, with an earlier game preceding this main clash, but there will be no Kop roar to lean on. The match is behind closed doors, stripping Liverpool of their most reliable weapon. On a weekend when rhythm and readiness matter more than the result, this still feels like a test the Reds cannot afford to sleepwalk through.
Liverpool still searching for defensive balance
Andoni Iraola is only just settling into the Liverpool dugout, and it shows. His players are still absorbing his ideas, and the teething problems are clearest at the back.
Liverpool’s pre-season has underlined their attacking threat – nine goals in four games, with Alexander Isak and Florian Wirtz both on target in their latest outing – but the defensive numbers tell a different story. Seven goals conceded in the last two matches. Two straight defeats, both against opponents they were expected to handle.
The collapse against Leeds was particularly jarring. Two goals up after an hour, they somehow lost 4-2. For a club that prides itself on control and intensity, that sort of unraveling is a red flag.
Injuries have not helped. Conor Bradley, Giovanni Leoni and Joe Gomez are all sidelined, leaving Liverpool short of options in defence. New signing Jeremy Jacquet only returned to training on Wednesday and is unlikely to be rushed in, so loan arrival Ronald Araujo is set to anchor a makeshift back line. Building chemistry at centre-back takes time; Como will know that and target it relentlessly.
Como’s rise gathers pace
On the other side, Cesc Fabregas has every reason to be satisfied with what he’s building at Como 1907.
They finished fourth in Serie A last season, clinching a historic first-ever Champions League qualification just seven years after playing in Serie D. The climb has been steep, fast and unapologetic. They are not coming to Anfield for the photo opportunity.
Their pre-season form backs that up. Como are unbeaten in five friendlies inside 90 minutes and have scored 10 goals in those games. They have hit at least two goals in three of their last five outings, with Martin Baturina and Anastasios Douvikas central to their threat.
Their trip to the Emirates on Wednesday underlined their progress. Facing Premier League champions Arsenal, Como went toe-to-toe and walked away level after 90 minutes. That performance, in that stadium, gives them every reason to believe they can trouble Liverpool as well.
Goals in the air
The numbers point in one direction: this should be open, and it should be lively.
Liverpool’s four pre-season fixtures have produced regular drama, with both teams scoring in three of them. Como have gone one better – all five of their friendlies have seen goals at both ends. Neither side is set up to shut a game down in August. Both are trying to sharpen attacking patterns and test new combinations.
With Isak, Wirtz, Dominik Szoboszlai and Cody Gakpo expected to feature, Liverpool have more than enough firepower to hurt anyone. But with a new centre-back partnership still learning each other’s movements and protection in front of them still being fine-tuned, keeping Como quiet for 90 minutes looks a stretch.
Fabregas’ side have shown they can punch up. Monaco and Leeds have both scored freely against Liverpool in recent days; Como will fancy their chances of doing the same.
A rare opportunity at Anfield
Strip away the crowd, add defensive uncertainty and throw in an opponent on a five-game unbeaten run, and this becomes one of the best chances a visiting side will ever get to bloody Liverpool’s nose at Anfield.
Como’s confidence is no illusion. They have already stood firm against the English champions and have yet to taste defeat in regulation time this pre-season. Their work rate without the ball, coupled with sharp transitions led by Baturina and Douvikas, makes them a genuine threat rather than a novelty act.
Liverpool, for their part, are still trying to click under a new manager, still waiting for the transfer market to fully address their needs, and still searching for defensive stability. The gap between the two sides, at least in this moment, is narrower than the names on the shirts might suggest.
Predicted score and key threats
All signs point to a game that refuses to settle down. Liverpool’s quality in the final third should ensure they find a way through, but Como’s form and Liverpool’s fragility at the back make a clean sheet unlikely.
A 2-2 draw feels entirely plausible, with Szoboszlai and Isak on the home side’s shortlist to find the net, and Baturina plus Douvikas the obvious danger men for the visitors.
For Liverpool, this is supposed to be a tune-up. For Como, it looks like something more: a chance to announce themselves, again, on one of European football’s most famous stages – even if the stands are empty.
If the Lariani can walk out of a silent Anfield having gone toe-to-toe with the Reds, how many more established clubs will have to start taking them very seriously when the real season begins?
