Bradley Barcola will be in contention to make his Liverpool bow when they take on Ipswich Town at Portman Road on Friday.

Liverpool will be desperate to pick up their first win of the 2026/27 season when they lock horns with Ipswich Town at Portman Road on Friday night. Andoni Iraola has no new injury concerns to worry about ahead of his side’s latest fixture.

Hugo Ekitike remains in the treatment room following an Achilles rupture earlier this year, while Giovanni Leoni and Conor Bradley continue their rehabilitation from long-term knee injuries. Joe Gomez is also unavailable with a muscular issue, while Federico Chiesa has yet to feature this term due to a minor back issue.

However, Iraola has a new resource at his disposal after the Merseyside club signed Bradley Barcola from Paris Saint-Germain before the September 1 summer transfer window deadline. Meanwhile, during his pre-match press conference, the Spanish tactician discussed whether Barcola would start against Ipswich Town.

The Liverpool head coach said, “He trained well with us. If everything goes well [in] today’s training also, he will definitely be available for tomorrow, yes. It’s a good question, it’s a good question.”

“I see him in a good place. He has trained with us in three trainings. It’s true that he hasn’t had minutes in pre-season but he has been training normal with the group. Then it’s a decision we have to make. I think he’s in a good place but we also have to consider that he hasn’t had the minutes in the pre-season games.”

Meanwhile, during his press conference, Iraola discussed the possibility of playing Dominik Szoboszlai as a right-back after he featured in the position towards the end of the game against Nottingham Forest last weekend.

The Liverpool boss said, “If we have to play him as a right winger, as a right-back, as a left-back, I think he’s ready to do it. I think he wants to help the team first. I think it’s good also to have players who can cover different positions, especially now that we have some injuries and probably we need this versatility of the players. Having players like Dom for me is very valuable because even in-game they allow me to change their positions.”

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 Ipswich Town on Friday. The backline will feature Jeremie Frimpong, Jeremy Jacquet, Virgil van Dijk, and Milos Kerkez.

As for the midfield unit, Alexis Mac Allister will line up alongside Dominik Szoboszlai in the double pivot, with Florian Wirtz reprising the no. 10 role. Finally, Alexander Isak will lead the line for the away side against Ipswich Town, with Victor Munoz and Cody Gakpo completing the numbers in the offensive unit. So, Bradley Barcola will be a backup option on the bench for the Reds.

Predicted Liverpool XI: Alisson; Frimpong, Jacquet, Van Dijk, Kerkez; Mac Allister, Szoboszlai; Gakpo, Wirtz, Munoz; Isak