Alexander Isak suffered a knock in the 1-0 win over Inter Milan on Tuesday, which could impact Arne Slot‘s plans for his new system in Saturday’s clash with Brighton.
Slot paired Isak with Hugo Ekitike for only the second time in midweek as he switched his setup to a 4-4-2 diamond.
And speaking ahead of the visit of Brighton in the Premier League, the head coach hinted that he intends to stick with that shape moving forward.
It is certainly a solution to a Liverpool squad currently without Mohamed Salah and Cody Gakpo for various reasons, though in his pre-match press conference Slot revealed a doubt over whether Isak can start at the weekend.
“I think what we all saw, and which is completely normal, the more they play together and the more they will adapt to each other and the better they will cooperate,” he said of Isak and Ekitike’s partnership vs. Inter.
“I think it’s fair to say that the other two who were on the pitch, Marcus Thuram and Lautaro Martinez, were more used to playing with each other.
“But I also saw promising things from the both of them; it’s been the second time they’ve played together for obvious reasons, because match fitness is the obvious reason in that.
“I think we will see more of this in the future, of them playing together.
“But Alex also got a knock in the first half, so let’s see how he has recovered from that today.
“[We will see] if he’s able to start tomorrow and, if he is able, if I make the decision to start them again together or we do it in a different way.”
If Isak is deemed not fit enough it will continue a frustrating trend for the £125 million summer signing, who has only started consecutive games on three occasions so far for Liverpool, with his longest run of starts being three.
Federico Chiesa available again vs. Brighton
However Slot could still have the option of retaining his two-striker system with Federico Chiesa returning to training following the illness which ruled him out against Inter.
Chiesa is yet to start in either the Premier League or Champions League this season, but is effectively third-choice forward at present bar any turnaround in Salah’s availability.
Jayden Danns is nearing a return from a long-term hamstring injury but is expected to build up his fitness with the U21s.
