Who: Ipswich Town vs Liverpool
What: English Premier League
Where: Portman Road, Ipswich, United Kingdom
When: Friday, September 4 at 8pm (19:00 GMT)
How to follow: Al Jazeera Sport will bring you all the buildup from 16:00 GMT.
Liverpool boss Andoni Iraola says that Bradley Barcola arrived at the club with the “right mentality” after making clear his desire to join the Premier League club from Paris Saint-Germain.
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The 24-year-old France forward became the second-most expensive signing in Liverpool’s history on Monday when he joined for a fee of up to 124 million pounds ($167m).
The price tag for the left-winger is second only to the 125 million pounds ($169m) Liverpool paid Newcastle for Sweden star Alexander Isak last year.
Iraola, who has started his Anfield tenure with two Premier League draws, welcomed the signing from the two-time defending Champions League winners, saying he would be available for Friday’s match at Ipswich.
“It was our priority, let’s say, to sign a very, very good player in that position,” the Spaniard told reporters on Thursday.
“And I think he has come also with the right mentality. I’ve learnt from him that he wanted Liverpool a lot. He just wanted to come here, and I think that’s a good first sign.
“And being the player that he is and the things that he has won recently, I think he has come also with the willingness to help us.
“And I’m very happy with him and he trained well with us. If everything goes well in today’s training, also he will definitely be available for [Ipswich].”
Iraola said a decision would be made on whether Barcola would be ready to start against newly promoted Ipswich at Portman Road.
“He is in a good place, but we also have to consider that he hasn’t had the minutes in the preseason games,” said the former Bournemouth boss.
Barcola will be part of an expensively assembled Liverpool attack that also includes Isak, Hugo Ekitike and playmaker Florian Wirtz.
The arrival of the Frenchman has raised questions about the future of left-winger Cody Gakpo, who was linked with a move away from Anfield during the summer transfer window.
But Iraola said he was happy to keep the Dutchman, whom he described as a “very valuable player”.
Iraola, who replaced the sacked Arne Slot, said he was happy with the club’s transfer business, including the signings of Barcola, Jeremy Jacquet and Victor Munoz, and was thankful the summer window was now closed.
“The club has decided that those signings that we’ve done are the ones that improved our team, improved our position,” he said.
“There were other options that we decided not to take for different reasons. Sometimes it’s sporting reasons because they don’t improve what you have.
“Sometimes it’s because of economic reasons – it didn’t make sense in terms of the market to do those movements.
“But I’m happy now that I know what we have. I have a lot of quality in the team. Now is the moment for us, for the players, for me, to develop what we have.”
Prediction
The Opta supercomputer has given Liverpool a 62 percent chance of winning the game, while giving Ipswich a 19 percent chance.
Head-to-head
This will be the 75th meeting between the teams, with Liverpool winning 38 of the previous meetings, while Ipswich have won only 14 of the encounters.
Ipswich Town team news
Ipswich have problems in the centre of the pitch with Azor Matusiwa and Jack Taylor both injured, while Florentino Luis faces a late fitness test.
Jaden Philogene-Bidace also misses out with an ankle injury, while Emersonn could miss out in attack due to a knee problem.
Predicted Ipswich Town starting lineup
Scherpen; O’Shea, Diop, Greaves, Davis; Nunez, Lukic; Fatawu, Enciso, Maeda; Akpom
Liverpool team news
Hugo Ekitike is out with a ruptured Achilles; defenders Giovanni Leoni and Conor Bradley are both recovering from long-term knee injuries.
Joe Gomez has a muscle strain, while Federico Chiesa has a back problem.
Predicted Liverpool starting lineup
Alisson; Frimpong, Jacquet, Van Dijk, Kerkez; Mac Allister, Szoboszlai; Gakpo, Wirtz, Munoz; Isak
