Liverpool kick off their UEFA Champions League campaign at home to Atletico Madrid on September 16 on the back of a stellar start to their Premier League season.
The new-look defending champions have won all four games so far in 2025/26 as Mohamed Salah’s added time penalty edged out a 1-0 victory at Burnley.
Arne Slot has invested heavily in his squad over the summer with the Premier League transfer record broken twice at Anfield.
A £100m deal for Florian Wirtz set the tone for Slot before a blockbuster £125m deadline day move for Alexander Isak.
Wirtz has started all four games, but with a mixed run of form, and Isak’s lack of match action means his debut has been pushed back by Slot.
Following his decision to go on strike at Newcastle United, Isak has not played a match or featured in preseason training since May, and that will take time to fix.
📲 Follow The Sporting News on WhatsApp
Slot opted against including him in the squad at Burnley, with the Dutch coach indicating a full week of training would be more beneficial. following his return from Sweden duty.
Ahead of welcoming Los Rojiblancos to Merseyside, Slot offered more detail over his intended plan for Isak, and his likely absence from the Merseyside derby against Everton on September 20.
“We decided it’s best for him to have a proper week of training instead of playing for five or 10 minutes,” he said at Turf Moor.
“But, I can assure fans he will be involved on Wednesday [vs. Atletico], but the Burnley game came a bit too early.
“If you start the season when the players who have been off for three or four or five weeks, you give them a certain base. You give them a lot of good sessions before they are able in the end of the week to play 45 minutes.
“Isak is in a state where you could say his preseason starts now, he needs proper minutes of training before he has that base, let alone for him to play twice in three days.
“Alex is far from ready for that schedule of three games in a week at 90 minutes. We could’ve used him for five minutes at Burnley, then Wednesday again 10, and then 15, but we don’t believe that’s the way to build him up.
“Now he can play either Wednesday or Saturday for 45 as a minimum, maybe a little more. But if he plays 45 on Wednesday, don’t expect him to play 45 or more on Saturday, because his body is not prepared.”
Slot’s comments show where he is prioritising Isak’s early game time and the battle with Diego Simeone has preference over the visit of Everton to Anfield.
The former Feyenoord boss picked up four points from his two debut derby meetings with Everton last season including a Diogo Jota winner at Anfield in April.
Liverpool news and related links
