Jeremy Jacquet will make his first competitive appearance for Liverpool when they take on Newcastle United at St. James’ Park on Sunday.
Liverpool will aim to kick-start the 2026/27 season with a bang when they lock horns with Newcastle United at St. James’ Park on Sunday evening. Andoni Iraola has a few pressing issues to worry about ahead of his side’s first Premier League outing of the new campaign.
Conor Bradley (knee), Giovanni Leoni (ACL), and Hugo Ekitike (achilles) remain long-term absentees for the Merseyside outfit. Additionally, Joe Gomez is still recovering from a muscular problem, while Federico Chiesa has also been absent from recent first-team training.
However, Jeremy Jacquet is now fully fit after recovering from a knee injury this month. Meanwhile, during his pre-match press conference, player morale was a bigger talking point than team news surrounding injuries and suspension, with Cody Gakpo and Alexander Isak being the players in the spotlight.
The Liverpool head coach said, “Cody is performing really well. I think he has been since the first day training very well, understanding everything we need from his position. I think you can feel it straight away when you talk to him, he understands the game. He’s very smart and he has been one of our best players in the friendlies. But definitely he has been performing very well. I cannot tell you the starting XI, the players don’t know it, so I will never say it, but definitely he’s in a great spot.”
“It’s always special when you play against your ex-team in your stadium. It’s the same way when I go back to play against Bournemouth. You always want to do well in the Premier League. And the first game of the season, I think everyone will be very, very motivated, and I think it’s going to be the same for Alex.”
“I think the same as other players [it is important to keep him fit]. Alex is going to be a very important player for us this season. Right now I think he is in a very good place, he’s been training every day, he hasn’t missed a training session, he’s adding more and more minutes in every friendly game.”
Alisson Becker is an automatic pick between the sticks, with Liverpool lining up in a 4-2-3-1 formation in front of him against Newcastle United on Sunday. The backline will feature Jeremie Frimpong, Jeremy Jacquet, Virgil van Dijk, and Milos Kerkez.
As for the midfield unit, there is no looking past Dominik Szoboszlai and Ryan Gravenberch in the double pivot, with Florian Wirtz reprising the no. 10 role. Finally, Alexander Isak will lead the line for the Reds against his former club, with Cody Gakpo and Rio Ngumoha being the two wide attackers. So, Victor Munoz must wait for his full debut, and he will make his bow off the bench.
Predicted Liverpool XI: Alisson; Frimpong, Jacquet, Van Dijk, Kerkez; Gravenberch, Szoboszlai; Ngumoha, Wirtz, Gakpo; Isak
