Overview
Liverpool's attacking style under Andoni Iraola is clearly shown in the pre-season period, when they scored 18 goals after 4 friendly matches. However, defensive ability is still a worrying issue when The Kop suffered 2 consecutive defeats against Leeds United and Monaco.
Notably, Liverpool both took a 2-goal lead in these defeats but could not preserve the advantage. In the confrontation with Monaco, Florian Wirtz and Alexander Isak put the home team ahead, before Aleksandr Golovin, Mika Biereth and Paris Brunner scored respectively, in which the decisive goal was scored in the 88th minute.
To improve the defense, Liverpool has added Ronald Araujo on loan from Barcelona. This center-back is expected to make his debut at Anfield on August 16.
Meanwhile, Como of coach Cesc Fabregas just had a fairly positive warm-up despite only drawing against Arsenal in a friendly match in the middle of the week. Myles Lewis-Skelly of Arsenal made a mistake, creating an opportunity for Martin Baturina to score an equalizer, before Como lost in a penalty shootout.
In addition to the match against Arsenal, Como is unbeaten throughout the pre-season with 2 wins and 3 draws. They scored 10 goals and conceded 7 times in 5 friendly matches.
Liverpool and Como have never faced each other in history. Therefore, the upcoming confrontation will be the first time the two teams meet.
Personnel situation
Liverpool still has some personnel issues before the new season when Joe Gomez, Giovanni Leoni, Jayden Danns, Hugo Ekitike and Conor Bradley have not been able to play due to injuries. However, Jeremy Jacquet and Curtis Jones have returned to training, while Alexis Mac Allister has also just joined the army after participating in the 2026 World Cup with Argentina.
Ronald Araujo is being given a chance to try his hand and is likely to partner with captain Virgil van Dijk. This combination could become Andoni Iraola's priority choice for Liverpool's defense in the 2026-2027 season.
On the Como side, Nico Paz appeared at the Emirates but did not play in the draw against Arsenal. The possibility of the Argentine midfielder playing in the next match is still undetermined.
Meanwhile, Jacobo Ramon, who is 1m96 tall and grew up from Real Madrid's training academy, is likely to take on the role of center-back. In attack, Anastasios Douvikas is predicted to start instead of Alvaro Morata in the center forward position.
Expected lineup:
Alisson, Frimpong, Araujo, Van Dijk, Kerkez, Gravenberch, Szoboszlai, Ngumoha, Wirtz, Gakpo, Isak.
Butez, Couto, Ramon, Kempf, Valle, Da Cunha, Perrone, Liberali, Baturina, Diao, Douvikas.
The match between Liverpool and Como takes place at 0:00 AM on August 17 (Vietnam time).
