OPINION: Liverpool face a run of four successive matches at Anfield across three different competitions and Andoni Iraola and his key players must turn around their poor home run

Under normal circumstances a manager would relish the opportunity to play four successive matches at home - especially after winning two on the road.

Due to the quirks of the fixture list Liverpool have four matches, across three competitions, at Anfield over the next 12 days. They play Villarreal in the Champions League on Tuesday night followed by high-flying Brighton in the Premier League, Chelsea in the Carabao Cup and Arsenal in the league.

That is undoubtedly a clutch of tough tasks for Andoni Iraola to overcome, but especially so given their record this season.

The Reds are yet to win at Anfield in the Premier League this season, having drawn against Nottingham Forest and Fulham and been thrashed by Manchester City. By contrast, they have three wins and one draw on the road in the league following their comeback at previously-unbeaten Brentford on Saturday.

It is a blindingly obvious issue to identify and a much tougher one to resolve. That is partly down to the players at Iraola's disposal.

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Liverpool have three players who cost them over £100million. And two of them are much more comfortable playing away from home on the counter-attack.

Florian Wirtz and Bradley Barcola both made an impact at Brentford, with the two stars providing the assists for Victor Munoz and Alexander Isak's goals. Their performances came after Barcola bagged a hat-trick in the 6-3 mauling of LASK in Austria in midweek.

Now they have to prove they can break Liverpool's hoodoo at home - and that is the most pressing task for Iraola.

Wirtz's performance in west London suggests he can do so. The German playmaker created nine chances against Brentford, the most of any player in a Premier League game this season. He has now created 20 chances this season - more than any other Premier League player, one ahead of Brighton's in-form star Pascal Gross on 19.

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Those statistics may come as a surprise, given the amount of debate around Wirtz this season, and the fact he has actually registered just two assists from 0.8 expected assists. Nevertheless, Wirtz is leagues ahead of his teammates for creativity, with Cody Gakpo and Dominik Szoboszlai on 11 chances created each.

Liverpool legend Steven Gerrard has backed Wirtz - who has seven goals and 13 assists in 58 games for the club - to come good. “I would be thinking, if you’re on the Liverpool staff or you’re a Liverpool senior player, this kid is a talent,” he said on the Overlap Daily.

“Don’t give up on him. This is not just Florian Wirtz. I’m talking about any young kid who has a dip in form or who is finding it hard to cope with a price tag. Let’s work with him. Let’s try and help him, let’s support him. Let’s get him in a better place, and that’s when I think you will see the consistency.”

He added: “The easy thing is to try and kill him and try to move him on and just wish him well. Oh, ‘How are we going to sell him or who’s going to buy him?’ When you just need to stop and think: ‘How can you fix it’?

“If you’re the manager of Liverpool, you need Wirtz to be shining. You need him playing well consistently, contributing goals and assists. That’s what the fans want.”

That sounds like a direct message for Iraola, who is still trying to move the jigsaw pieces around to find the right combination. While Isak has been solid, scoring five goals in six league games this season, Barcola has taken time to find his feet.

Jamie Carragher hinted at the reason why in an analysis segment on Sky Sports' Monday Night Football programme. "Barcola is a transition monster, that's when he's going to be at his best, when he's got space in front of him. He's arguably the quickest player in the Premier League," he said.

"Maybe at Anfield he's going to find it a bit tougher when teams play a low block and there's not much space. He's going to have to improve his finishing if he is to justify his fee."

Liverpool won't often be handed the luxury of transitions against away sides at Anfield. Barcola's lightning pace and Wirtz's eye for a pass were both useful weapons against Brentford, who ended the match with nine men, but they will have to show other strings to their bow in the next 12 days.

It is up to Iraola to build a system which gets the best out of his expensive chess pieces.