Andoni Iraola, who has taken over as Liverpool head coach following Arne Slot's departure a year after winning the Premier League, is beginning to imprint his tactical style on the team, with many observers noting parallels to the intense "heavy metal" football Anfield favoured under Jürgen Klopp. Analysis of Liverpool's pre-season matches suggests Iraola is adapting his usual approach, built at Bournemouth, to account for the fact opponents are more likely to sit deep against a bigger club, requiring him to solve the challenge of dominating possession while retaining his trademark chaotic intensity.

Liverpool have won pre-season games against Sunderland and Wrexham but surrendered two-goal leads in defeats to Leeds and Monaco, averaging 60.6% possession, up nearly 13 percentage points on Iraola's Bournemouth side last season. Tactically, Liverpool have built play short from the back to draw out opposition pressure before playing quickly forward, or gone long early when teams press immediately, aiming to win second balls. Iraola has cited Marcelo Bielsa, who coached him at Athletic Club, as a major influence, and his sides show similar traits of dynamic, fluid attacking play and flexible wide combinations rather than rigid positional structures.