Andoni Iraola's Premier League Debut: Key Selection Decisions for Liverpool

Andoni Iraola steps into the Premier League spotlight on Sunday with one of the most unforgiving opening assignments around: Liverpool away to Newcastle United at St James’ Park, a stadium that feeds off early-season jeopardy.

His brief is clear but brutal. Lift a club still smarting from a fifth-place finish, hint at a future title challenge, and do it all with a squad that already looks stretched before a ball has been kicked. The long-term aim is silverware. The short-term demand is simple: don’t start with a thud on Tyneside.

Jeremy Jacquet has arrived as the £60million headline act from Rennes, a deal wrapped up last year. Ronald Araujo has come in on loan from Barcelona, Victor Munoz from Osasuna, both expected to add depth rather than dominate the back pages. Even so, the sense lingers that Liverpool’s attack remains a couple of bodies light if they’re serious about fighting on several fronts.

For now, though, it’s about one game and three big calls.

Araujo over Jacquet at centre-back

The temptation to throw Jacquet straight in will be strong. Big fee, big reputation, big stage. But St James’ Park in full voice is no place to ease into English football when you’re undercooked.

Jacquet hasn’t played a competitive minute since early February. His pre-season amounted to just 45 minutes because of injury. Dropping him into a hostile away opener, against a Newcastle side that can swarm and suffocate, would be less bold and more reckless.

Iraola is short at centre-back with Joe Gomez injured, yet he does have Araujo. The Uruguayan has only managed a half of football in pre-season himself, but he finished last season playing regularly and knows what it means to operate in high-pressure environments. Seven years at the Nou Camp harden you to noise, expectation and chaos.

Starting Jacquet would be a statement. It wouldn’t necessarily be the right one. Araujo offers experience, positional nous and a cooler head for a fixture that can quickly turn frantic. On day one of a new era, Iraola needs stability at the back, not a baptism by fire for his marquee signing.

Ngumoha’s moment on the right

If centre-back is a place to err on the side of caution, the right wing is where Iraola has to embrace risk.

Rio Ngumoha is 17. He is raw. He carries all the usual unknowns that come with throwing a teenager into a snarling Premier League away day. Yet here, Liverpool’s new manager has little choice – and, crucially, a compelling reason to trust him.

Victor Munoz could be shunted out of position and asked to do a job on the flank, but that would feel like a safety-first move that ignores what Ngumoha has shown across pre-season. The youngster has impressed, earned minutes, and made his case with performances rather than hype.

He also knows this ground. He scored the winner in this very fixture last season, sliding the ball past Nick Pope at the Leazes End in the 100th minute. That moment wasn’t just a nice story; it proved he can keep his nerve when everything is on the line.

With Alexander Isak returning to his former home and the volume likely cranked up even higher, Liverpool need players who won’t shrink. Ngumoha has already shown he can handle the noise. On the right wing, this is his shirt to lose.

Mac Allister the fall guy in midfield reshuffle

If there is one area where Iraola does not have to compromise, it’s midfield. Even with Curtis Jones expected to join Inter Milan, the options are stacked: Alexis Mac Allister, Dominik Szoboszlai, Ryan Gravenberch, Florian Wirtz, Wataru Endo, Harvey Elliott, Trey Nyoni and Stefan Bajcetic.

That depth gives Iraola the freedom to be ruthless, and the first big casualty should be Mac Allister.

The Argentine managed just 54 minutes in total during pre-season after an extended break following his World Cup exertions. Match sharpness is not there yet. More importantly, his form across large stretches of the 2025/26 campaign never fully convinced, and he should not walk into the new season as an automatic starter.

A midfield trio of Szoboszlai, Gravenberch and Wirtz offers a different kind of balance: energy, vertical running, creativity and a threat between the lines. It looks, on paper at least, like a unit built for Iraola’s intensity and front-foot style.

Leaving out a World Cup winner on opening day is a big call. But big calls are exactly what this job demands.

Iraola’s Liverpool tenure begins in the noise and heat of St James’ Park. His selection on Sunday won’t define his era, but it will set the tone. Does he lean on experience, back youth, and reshape the midfield in one swing? Or does caution creep in before a ball has even been kicked?