Liverpool Prepare for Como Challenge in Closed-Door Match

Liverpool’s final dress rehearsal before the Premier League kicks off comes with a twist: two games in one day against Como 1907 and not a single supporter on the Kop. For a club that feeds off Anfield’s noise, this is as sterile as it gets – and that’s exactly why the visitors will fancy their chances.

The sides meet twice on Sunday, with this behind‑closed‑doors encounter stripping Liverpool of their usual emotional surge. On current form and with the Reds still feeling their way into Andoni Iraola’s methods, this is no routine pre‑season run‑out.

Liverpool still searching for rhythm

Questions around Liverpool are piling up faster than answers. Iraola is new in the dugout, his ideas still bedding in, and the squad doesn’t yet look fully tuned. The transfer window has moved slowly for the Reds, and the defensive structure in particular remains a concern.

Recent results underline the unease. Liverpool have lost two on the spin, both against sides they were expected to handle. The Leeds defeat was especially alarming: 2-0 up by the hour mark, then somehow on the wrong end of a 4-2 scoreline. For a team trying to build a new identity under a new coach, that kind of collapse is a red flag.

Yet the attacking talent is obvious. Across four pre‑season games, Liverpool have hit nine goals. Dominik Szoboszlai and Alexander Isak both scored in their latest outing, and the forward line looks capable of cutting through most opponents when it clicks.

The probable XI reflects that firepower: Alisson behind a back four of Jeremie Frimpong, Ronald Araujo, Virgil van Dijk and Milos Kerkez, with Szoboszlai, Ryan Gravenberch and Federico Chiesa in midfield, and Florian Wirtz, Cody Gakpo and Isak forming a high‑class front three.

The problem lies behind that glamour. Injuries to Conor Bradley, Giovanni Leoni and Joe Gomez leave Liverpool light at the back. New signing Jeremy Jacquet only returned to training on Wednesday and is unlikely to be risked, so Araujo is expected to step straight in. Building chemistry with Van Dijk on the fly is never ideal, and Como will look to probe every uncertainty.

Seven goals conceded in Liverpool’s last two games tell their own story. This defence is not yet in sync.

Como’s remarkable rise meets a major audition

On the opposite side, Cesc Fabregas walks into Anfield with momentum and a squad that has been punching through ceilings. Como finished fourth in Serie A last season, securing a historic first‑ever Champions League qualification just seven years after playing in Serie D. The climb has been steep, and they have not stopped to look down.

Their pre‑season has only fuelled that confidence. Como are unbeaten in five friendlies inside 90 minutes and have scored 10 goals in that stretch. They’ve also shown they can live with elite opposition. A midweek trip to the Emirates to face Premier League champions Arsenal ended level after 90 minutes, a result that will echo loudly in the Liverpool dressing room.

Fabregas has shaped a side that looks comfortable on the ball and ruthless when space opens. The expected lineup – Jean Butez in goal; Yan Couto, Ramon, Marc-Oliver Kempf and Valle across the back; Da Cunha, Perrone and Liberali in midfield; Martin Baturina and Diao supporting Anastasios Douvikas – carries threat from multiple angles.

Crucially, Como have been hitting more than one goal regularly, doing so in three of their last five matches. Against a Liverpool defence still finding its bearings, that statistic suddenly feels very relevant.

Goals on the cards

Strip away the badges and the reputations and the pattern is simple: both sides are scoring freely, both are conceding, and neither looks watertight.

Three of Liverpool’s four pre‑season fixtures have seen both teams score. Every single one of Como’s five friendlies has produced goals at both ends. With Liverpool’s front line humming and their back line still in rehearsal mode, the net should bulge repeatedly.

A 2-2 scoreline sits neatly with the evidence. Szoboszlai and Isak are well placed to find the target for Liverpool, while Baturina and Douvikas carry enough menace to trouble Araujo and Van Dijk. In an empty stadium, with intensity a notch below competitive level, concentration lapses tend to creep in – and attackers usually cash in.

Over 2.5 goals with both teams scoring feels less like a punt and more like a logical extension of both teams’ summers so far.

Perfect storm for an upset?

Take away the crowd. Add a Liverpool side still learning a new system, missing defensive pieces and wobbling in recent results. Then drop in a Como team on a five‑game unbeaten run, fresh off a draw with Arsenal and playing with nothing to lose.

This is as good a window as any for the Italians to avoid defeat at Anfield.

Liverpool’s aura at home is built on noise, pressure and wave after wave of energy from the stands. Behind closed doors, that edge dulls. For a composed, confident visiting side, the psychological mountain shrinks to a manageable hill.

Given Liverpool’s recent habit of conceding in bunches and Como’s knack for finding more than one goal, backing the visitors to score at least twice is far from far‑fetched. Monaco and Leeds have already gone past one goal against Iraola’s side in pre‑season; Como have every reason to believe they can join that list.

So the script for Sunday is clear enough. Liverpool will look to sharpen their attacking patterns and reassure themselves before the real stuff begins. Como will stride into an empty Anfield sensing opportunity.

If the Lariani leave with goals and a result, it won’t feel like a shock. It will feel like the next logical step in a rise that shows no sign of slowing.