A different voice now leads Liverpool, several new forwards are competing for places and defeat has not yet arrived in the league. We examine whether Iraola's first side can turn that promising base into a challenge for first place.
Iraola has reached the first international pause without losing a league match. Scratch beneath that statistic, though, and three draws explain why Liverpool already trail City by six points.
There is progress among the frustration. Ipswich and Bournemouth were beaten, the last three league opponents failed to score and Iraola's pressing ideas are beginning to surface. Isak, Wirtz, Gakpo and Barcola have not yet clicked often enough to make the attack feel as expensive as it looks.
Visit the talkSPORT BET football betting hub for the wider match schedule and competition range. This guide considers the latest Liverpool odds to win the Premier League, what Iraola is changing and where improvement must come from.
Liverpool's current position can be found in the Premier League winner odds. Check that market when placing a wager because an outright price will move during the campaign.
Nine points from five matches places Liverpool in the pack, not at its head. City are six points away and Arsenal three, which makes the cost of another avoidable draw easy to see.
Nothing is paid out for an attractive position at Christmas. The outright selection lives until the 38th fixture and requires Liverpool to end the campaign above everybody else.
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There is no need for panic at Anfield, but the early arithmetic is obvious. Drawing three of five matches produces an unbeaten record and only nine points. A side targeting the championship cannot continue dropping two points that often.
Momentum has started to turn. After the run of draws, Liverpool defeated Ipswich and found a narrow winner at Bournemouth. The second performance was rough around the edges, yet champions regularly need points on days that never become comfortable.
Iraola now has an extended international break to work on the pieces that still look disconnected. Several players arrived late after the World Cup or summer transfers, and the attack has not had many uninterrupted weeks on the training pitch.
City's perfect opening has reduced the margin for experimentation. Liverpool do not need to chase the table in September, though they cannot let the leaders disappear while their own system settles.
Three impressive years at Bournemouth earned Iraola the Anfield job. He succeeded Slot after the 2024/25 champions tumbled to fifth the following season. His appointment signals a clear change in tempo.
The Spaniard wants his teams to play forwards, press aggressively and attack before an opponent has reset. That should feel familiar to an Anfield crowd raised on the intensity of Jürgen Klopp's best sides, although Iraola's structure is his own.
The first few weeks have shown why adaptation is required. Liverpool have occasionally started slowly, leaving too much room between their lines before improving after the interval. A press only works when the team moves together. One player arriving late gives the opposition a route through it.
There are promising signs. The Reds are unbeaten across all competitions at the time of writing, and a rotated group progressed in the EFL Cup. Iraola has also shown a willingness to judge established players and younger options by the same standard.
The job is not to recreate Klopp. It is to give a gifted but expensive squad an identity strong enough to survive the less glamorous weeks of a Premier League season.
Isak has supplied four goals in the opening weeks and struck the winner on Iraola's return to Bournemouth. His finish decided a tight match in which Liverpool struggled to create a long list of clear opportunities.
That ability is vital. A title contender cannot depend on dominating every opponent for 90 minutes. Sometimes one movement across a centre-back and one calm touch are enough.
Cody Gakpo has developed a useful understanding with Isak, assisting each of his first four goals this season. Gakpo can drift from the left, receive between positions and release the striker before the defence becomes set.
The concern is what happens if Isak misses matches or falls out of form. Hugo Ekitiké offers another central option, while Gakpo can play closer to goal, but changing the striker can alter several relationships at once.
Keeping Isak available without exhausting him will be one of Iraola's most important calls. Liverpool are balancing the league with Europe and the domestic cups, so the temptation to start their most reliable scorer every three days must be managed.
Barcola was Liverpool's deadline-day statement. He can eat up open grass and carry an attack towards goal before defenders are facing the right direction, precisely the sort of chaos Iraola enjoys creating.
For now, the Frenchman is feeling his way through a new league and an unfamiliar front line. Early performances have contained sharp runs without a consistent final action. Liverpool paid for what he can become across a season, not simply what he could deliver in his first few appearances.
Victor Muñoz brings another type of threat. He can play from either side, works without the ball and attacks space directly. His energy makes sense in Iraola's press, especially when the coach wants the front line to force hurried passes.
Federico Chiesa and Gakpo add further combinations. The options look deep on paper; the task is turning them into a settled pecking order without making anybody feel that one quiet match will remove them from the side.
Liverpool need width for more than appearance. Stretching the back four opens the central channel for Wirtz, Szoboszlai and Isak. When the wingers move inside too early, the pitch becomes crowded and the attack easier to contain.
Wirtz arrived with a major reputation and a price tag that brought immediate scrutiny. More than a year later, Liverpool are still waiting for him to control Premier League matches as regularly as he did in Germany.
The talent is visible. He sees passes early, receives in small spaces and can link midfield to attack without needing several touches. Iraola has publicly backed the player and pointed to improved moments after half-time at Bournemouth.
Production remains the issue. One assist across his first six appearances in all competitions this season has kept the discussion alive. When a player occupies a creative role in an expensively assembled attack, promising positions eventually need to become goals and assists.
The surrounding balance matters too. Alexis Mac Allister and Ryan Gravenberch can progress the ball, while Dominik Szoboszlai adds running power. If all three midfield roles drift towards creation, Liverpool may lose the protection required for Iraola's aggressive shape.
Wirtz does not need to justify his entire Liverpool career in September. He does need to make himself increasingly difficult to leave out.
Three league clean sheets in succession provide the strongest evidence that Liverpool are moving forward. Bournemouth had their spells and made Alisson work, but Liverpool refused to hand back a slender lead.
Van Dijk still arranges everything in front of the goalkeeper. He reads danger early and wins the sort of aerial duel that allows the line to stay high. Barcelona loanee Araújo supplies recovery pace and physical aggression beside him.
Frimpong and Kerkez want to fly beyond midfield. Their adventure creates extra attackers and empty grass behind them, tying Iraola's choice of midfield directly to how secure his centre-backs feel.
Alisson continues to provide insurance. An early Alisson save can settle an awkward away crowd. Liverpool cannot abuse that safety net by repeatedly leaving him alone with a breaking forward.
Three shutouts suggest improvement. They do not close the case. The next stage is combining the defensive improvement with more consistent attacking football.
The two early leaders offer Liverpool different problems. City have taken maximum points under Enzo Maresca and possess the attacking depth to punish any prolonged run of draws. Our guide to Manchester City odds to win the Premier League explores the strengths behind their perfect start and the defensive gaps that offer Liverpool some hope.
Arsenal carry the trophy and the memory of holding their nerve last spring. Brighton have shown that they can be beaten, although 12 points from 15 still leaves Arteta's team above the Reds. Our Arsenal odds to win the Premier League page examines their attempt to retain the crown.
Liverpool will face both clubs twice, yet those four fixtures are not the entire race. Three draws against Newcastle, Nottingham Forest and another early opponent have already cost six points. Beating the favourites means less if routine weekends keep ending level.
The Reds need to remain close enough that a direct victory changes the table rather than merely reduces a large deficit.
The first requirement is greater consistency at Anfield. Iraola spoke about wanting to experience the stadium's energy from the home dugout. His team must give the crowd reasons to sustain it, particularly against opponents who arrive intending to slow the match.
Next comes the conversion of draws. Liverpool do not need to attack recklessly when a game is level, but their bench contains enough quality to change its shape and rhythm. Barcola, Chiesa, Muñoz and Ekitiké can all alter a tiring contest.
The midfield must settle. Iraola needs enough creativity to supply Isak without leaving Van Dijk and his partner exposed. That balance may look different against City than it does against a promoted side at Anfield.
Europe completes the puzzle. Liverpool appear in the Champions League betting schedule too, so long journeys and intense Wednesday nights will intrude on league preparation. Iraola must rotate before tired legs become unavailable ones.
The Premier League trophy has travelled to Anfield twice, first in 2019/20 and again in 2024/25. Earlier championships take Liverpool's complete top-flight haul to 20.
Slot delivered the latter title immediately. Falling from first to fifth in the following campaign therefore felt less like a gentle decline and more like a collapse. That contrast also shows how quickly the picture can change.
Iraola has inherited players who know both feelings. Van Dijk, Alisson, Mac Allister, Szoboszlai and several others understand the standards required to win, while last season provides a recent warning about what happens when control slips.
Past trophies cannot close a six-point gap. The experience behind them may help when the table tightens and every result begins to feel heavier.
The season-long winner market is only one option. Depending on availability, Liverpool betting markets may include:
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