All the latest Liverpool FC news as Arne Slot hopes to get a look at Alexander Isak in action for the first time this season
Sweden's forward Alexander Isak attends a training session with Sweden's national team in Bosön in Lidingö on the outskirts of Stockholm, Sweden, on September 2, 2025. Record spending of £3 billion ($4 billion) during the summer transfer window further cements the Premier League as the "most competitive in world football", according to financial experts Deloitte. The window closed in dramatic style late on Monday, September 1, 2025, when Liverpool announced the British record £125 million signing of Newcastle striker Alexander Isak after a day of big moves
Sweden's forward Alexander Isak attends a training session with Sweden's national team in Bosön in Lidingö on the outskirts of Stockholm, Sweden, on September 2, 2025. Record spending of £3 billion ($4 billion) during the summer transfer window further cements the Premier League as the "most competitive in world football", according to financial experts Deloitte. The window closed in dramatic style late on Monday, September 1, 2025, when Liverpool announced the British record £125 million signing of Newcastle striker Alexander Isak after a day of big moves
Alexander Isak during Sweden training session while on international duty(Image: Photo by JONATHAN NACKSTRAND/AFP via Getty Images)
Alexander Isak could feature for the first time in over 100 days when Sweden lock horns with Slovenia at the Stožice Stadium this evening. The Liverpool striker, who left Newcastle United to join Arne Slot's side on deadline day, hasn't played since the end of May.
He last stepped onto the pitch when Everton stormed past the Magpies at St. James' Park on the final weekend of the Premier League season. Having essentially gone on strike, missing Newcastle's tour of Asia and training away from the first team, Isak didn't get any minutes in the tank over the summer.
Despite this, Jon Dahl Tomasson still called the 25-year-old up for international duty as the UEFA World Cup qualifiers get underway this month. Sweden have been draw into Group B with Slovenia, Switzerland and Kosovo.
While Isak will be desperate to get his country off to a winning start this evening, Liverpool won't want their £125m record signing to get injured. So, with that being said, the ECHO has rounded up everything you need to know about Sweden's match against Slovenia.
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What time does
Slovenia versus Sweden will kick off at 7.45pm at the Stožice Stadium on Friday, September 5. Assuming there are no extended breaks in play or stoppages, the final whistle will likely blow at around 9.45pm.
Who will officiate
José María Sánchez Martínez will referee Sweden's match against Slovenia on Friday night. He'll be joined by his assistants Raúl Cabañero Martínez and Iñigo Prieto López de Ceraín.
Ricardo De Burgos Bengoetxea has been named as the fourth official. Meanwhile, Carlos del Cerro Grande is the Video Assistant Referee, with Javier Iglesias Villanueva acting as his assistant.
How to watch
A handful of this month's UEFA World Cup qualifiers will be shown live to viewers in the United Kingdom on Amazon Prime Video, which offers a pay-per-view streaming service for the upcoming World Cup qualifiers. It costs £2.49 per match, and you don't need an active membership to buy live coverage of the match.
Unfortunately, Slovenia vs Sweden is not available to watch, but viewers can stream Ukraine vs France and Italy vs Estonia on Friday night.
In the United States, the game will be broadcast on Fox Sports Plus and streamed via the Fox Sports app. In Sweden, it will be televised on Viaplay. In Slovenia, it will be shown on SportKlub 1 and ŠTV.
Will Isak feature during
Speaking to Sky Sports, Tomasson confirmed that Isak will play for Sweden over the international break, but, after conversations with Liverpool staff, he's not planning to take any risks. The former Newcastle United striker said: "We are not going to do stupid things with him. But we have a plan.
"Normally in pre-season you have plenty of training and plenty of games. This is not the case with Alex. He is a game changer. But can he play 90 minutes? Of course not."
What has the Sweden boss said?
In an interview with Sky Sports ahead of the clash, Tomasson was asked how he plans to fit Viktor Gyokeres and Alexander Isak into his starting line-up. The Sweden boss said: "When I started, there was a lot of noise about those two - 'Alexander Isak and Viktor Gyokeres cannot play together'.
"Of course they can! Great players can always play together. It's my task as the coach to get the right scenery where they can perform and express themselves. And they've been great so far.
"Great characters, great personalities, lovely boys to work with. And they like to score goals," Tomasson added. "They're living for goals. They are two of the best players in the world at making those runs in behind.
"There's of course a bit of a similarity, but also a bit different. Viktor Gyokeres' channel runs is on an extremely high level. Alexander Isak's runs just in behind is on an extremely high level.
"So one is more straight running in behind and the other one is more the general runs at the side from in to out. I'm a big believer that if we can create a game where we decide how the game are looking, then we probably get eight opportunities during a game for those players.
"And with the qualities that they have, they will be scoring goals - and we will be happy and pleased in the end..."