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Anfield, Liverpool
Sunday 16 August 2026, 18:00 BST
Liverpool welcome Serie A outfit Como to Anfield on Sunday evening for a pre-season double-header, with two fixtures scheduled against the Italian visitors as new manager Andoni Iraola looks to iron out defensive concerns that have plagued the Reds throughout their summer preparations ahead of the Premier League opener.
Cesc Fabregas brings his Como side to Merseyside in what represents the first ever competitive or friendly encounter between these two clubs, and the Italian visitors arrive in decent pre-season form having avoided defeat in regulation time across their last five matches, a run that includes a 3-1 victory over Al-Ula and a 3-2 win at Famalicao.
Liverpool vs Como form and preview
Iraola's tenure at Anfield has begun with mixed results, and the Basque manager has had to contend with a summer of significant squad upheaval following the departures of Mohamed Salah, Andrew Robertson and Ibrahima Konate, who joined Real Madrid on a free transfer.
The pre-season schedule has exposed defensive fragility in particular, with Liverpool conceding 10 goals across their last five matches and keeping just one clean sheet, the 1-0 victory over Wrexham on 30 July.
A 4-2 victory over Sunderland in late July offered early encouragement, but a 2-4 defeat to Leeds in Chicago and a subsequent 2-3 loss to Monaco at Anfield have raised legitimate questions about the solidity of a back line adjusting to the arrival of Ronald Araujo on loan from Barcelona and the continued absence of several first-choice defenders.
Liverpool have scored freely enough, netting 10 goals in those five games, but the inability to prevent opponents from finding the net has been a recurring pattern under the new coaching staff.
The Reds closed the 2025/26 Premier League season with a 1-1 draw at home to Brentford, and the dismissal of Arne Slot in May 2026 brought Iraola to Merseyside with a mandate to rebuild the squad's competitive edge after a disappointing final stretch to the previous campaign, where they finished fifth.
Como present a more settled picture heading into this fixture, having emerged from a strong 2025/26 Serie A campaign in which they finished fourth and qualified for the Champions League for the first time in the club's history.
Their pre-season programme has been solid if unspectacular, with victories over Al-Ula (3-1) and Famalicao (3-2) interspersed with draws against Paris FC (2-2), Villarreal (1-1, lost on penalties) and Arsenal (1-1, lost on penalties), the latter played at the Emirates on 12 August.
Como have conceded seven goals across those five outings and have not managed a clean sheet in the sequence, though Fabregas will take encouragement from the fact that his side have remained competitive in every fixture, avoiding defeat in normal time throughout.
Nico Paz has been the standout performer for Como, contributing 12 goals and six assists in the Serie A campaign, and Fabregas will be looking to the Argentine creative midfielder to unlock spaces against a Liverpool defence still searching for its best combination.
Team news: Liverpool vs Como
Liverpool
Iraola faces a lengthy injury list that has restricted his options throughout pre-season, with six players confirmed as unavailable and new signing Jeremy Jacquet only recently returning to training following his 55 million pound move from Rennes.
The absence of Hugo Ekitike with an Achilles problem, alongside Bradley, Bajcetic and Gomez, has depleted the squad significantly, and the loan arrival of Araujo from Barcelona has been a necessary addition to a centre-back group also missing Leoni, who ruptured his anterior cruciate ligament.
Curtis Jones has returned to training after missing the Monaco defeat with a minor hip complaint, though his availability for Sunday is complicated by ongoing transfer speculation, with the 25-year-old entering the final year of his Liverpool contract and remaining a target for Inter Milan.
Alexander Isak is available and expected to lead the line, though the striker is working his way back to full fitness after suffering a fractured leg against Tottenham during the 2025/26 season, an injury that restricted him to just 14 Premier League appearances last term.
Florian Wirtz, who registered five goals and three assists in the Premier League last season, should start in the attacking midfield role, while Alexis Mac Allister has returned from World Cup duty and should feature in the engine room alongside Ryan Gravenberch.
Como
Fabregas has a clean bill of health across his squad heading into this fixture, though Nico Paz did not feature in the 1-1 draw with Arsenal earlier this week despite being present at the Emirates, and it remains to be seen whether the Argentine playmaker is given the green light for Sunday's trip to Anfield.
The former Arsenal and Barcelona midfielder is expected to deploy a 4-2-3-1 system with Mattia Liberali, Martin Baturina and Assane Diao operating behind lone striker Anastasios Douvikas, a shape that served Como well against Arsenal.
Maximo Perrone and Mateus Da Cunha should anchor the midfield double pivot, with Yan Couto, the new loanee, at right-back and Guillermo Valle on the opposite flank in a back four completed by Marc Kempf and Jacobo Ramon, the towering former Real Madrid defender who has been linked with a move to Arsenal.
Liverpool vs Como predicted lineups
Predicted Liverpool XI (4-3-3): Alisson; Frimpong, Van Dijk, Araujo, Kerkez; Szoboszlai, Gravenberch, Mac Allister; Wirtz, Isak, Gakpo
Predicted Como XI (4-2-3-1): Butez; Couto, Ramon, Kempf, Valle; Da Cunha, Perrone; Liberali, Baturina, Diao; Douvikas
Head-to-head: Liverpool vs Como
Sunday's fixture at Anfield represents the first time Liverpool and Como have met in any competition, meaning there is no head-to-head record to draw upon when assessing the likely outcome of this encounter.
Liverpool's broader record against Italian opposition is mixed in recent years, with the club's Champions League campaigns providing the most relevant reference points, though Como's Serie A status is a relatively recent development after their promotion from Serie B at the end of the 2023/24 season.
The absence of any previous meeting adds an element of novelty to a fixture that might otherwise be dismissed as a routine pre-season exercise, and Fabregas will relish the opportunity to pit his tactical ideas against a Premier League heavyweight on their own ground with nothing to lose.
Our Liverpool vs Como prediction and tips
- Liverpool have scored 10 goals in their last five matches but have conceded the same number, highlighting a team that creates plenty but remains vulnerable at the back
- Como have avoided defeat in regulation time across their last five outings, conceding seven goals and failing to keep a clean sheet in any of those matches
- Nico Paz contributed 12 goals and six assists in Serie A last season, giving Como a genuine match-winner capable of punishing any lapses from the Liverpool defence
- Liverpool's superior squad depth and the home environment at Anfield should prove decisive, particularly if Iraola uses the occasion to give his strongest available XI meaningful minutes together
Adeyeye Oluwapelumi is a sports writer with more than 1,000 published articles covering football and major sporting events worldwide. His knowledge spans leagues across the globe, including the Premier League, La Liga, Serie A, Bundesliga and Ligue 1. Combining research, insight and creativity, he enjoys finding fresh angles and delivering engaging coverage of the game's biggest stories.