Liverpool's Centre-Back Dilemma: Araujo or Jacquet?

A new Liverpool era begins on Tyneside this afternoon, and Andoni Iraola’s first big call could define the tone of his reign.

Everything starts with one question: who stands next to Virgil van Dijk?

Centre-back dilemma for Iraola

Injuries and absences have stripped the options down to the bare bones. Joe Gomez is out after a pre-season knock. Giovanni Leoni is a long-term casualty. That leaves just two senior contenders alongside the captain at the heart of the defence: Araujo and summer signing Jeremy Jacquet.

Both were given a half each in the final warm-up game against Como last weekend. Jacquet marked his Anfield introduction with a goal just before the break, a sharp reminder of his threat in the opposition box and a glimpse of why Liverpool moved for him.

But the story of his summer complicates things. Jacquet has been playing catch-up with his fitness after shoulder surgery back in February while at Rennes. The operation and recovery wiped out much of his last six months, and his minutes in pre-season have been limited.

For a Premier League opener at St James’ Park, that matters. Iraola is unlikely to gamble.

Araujo, by contrast, knows this fixture. He has already felt the noise, the hostility, the relentlessness that makes Newcastle away one of the division’s most demanding assignments, even with the home side dealing with their own off-field turbulence. He has shown he can survive that storm. That experience could tip the balance.

The rest picks itself

Beyond that central defensive call, Iraola’s first Liverpool XI almost writes itself.

Alisson will anchor the side in goal. Jeremie Frimpong and Milos Kerkez are set to complete the back five, offering pace and aggression from the flanks to suit Iraola’s high-energy blueprint.

In midfield, Ryan Gravenberch is expected to line up alongside Dominik Szoboszlai. Trey Nyoni turned heads over the summer with mature, fearless performances, but this looks like a day for established operators in the engine room.

Alexis Mac Allister is unlikely to be thrown straight in. He has managed just 54 minutes of pre-season after an extended break following the World Cup, and this kind of opening-day cauldron is no place for half-fitness. Curtis Jones, meanwhile, is no longer an option at all after his move to Inter Milan.

New-look attack and a hostile homecoming

Out wide, Liverpool’s recruitment work is still incomplete. Deals for Bradley Barcola and Ibrahim Mbaye have yet to be sealed, and talks continue over Yankuba Minteh. That leaves Rio Ngumoha and Cody Gakpo as the probable starters on the flanks, with Florian Wirtz operating in the No 10 role, the creative hub behind the striker.

On the bench, Victor Munoz will be waiting for the nod, hoping Iraola hands him a debut on a day that already carries the feel of a fresh chapter.

Leading the line, and walking straight into a wall of noise, will be Alexander Isak. The Swede returns to St James’ Park for the first time since his British record £125 million switch last summer, a transfer that still stings on Tyneside.

He can expect a cold welcome from the home support. How he handles it, and how Iraola’s first big defensive decision holds up behind him, will say plenty about where this Liverpool project is heading.