Arne Slot will have to leave out two players from his Liverpool matchday squad against Burnley with the Dutchman poised to make a handful of changes
Jeremie Frimpong with Alexander Isak
Jeremie Frimpong with Alexander Isak
Arne Slot is set to make a number of changes to his matchday squad when Liverpool travel to Burnley despite his side boasting an 100% winning record in the Premier League. The reigning champions won 1-0 against Arsenal in their last outing before the September international break and are guaranteed to retain top spot with victory at Turf Moor.
Sunday’s match will be Liverpool’s first since the transfer window closed on September 1 with Alexander Isak poised to make his debut after joining in a club-record £125m switch from Newcastle United.
However, the Isak is expected to be limited to a cameo appearance off the bench at most following a disjointed pre-season.
An 18-minute substitute appearance for Sweden during the international break was the striker’s first outing of any kind since the final day of last season, having trained alone for the majority of the summer and effectively gone on strike at St. James’ Park in a bid to force through his move to Anfield.
Isak was not the only deadline day transfer involving Liverpool this summer. Harvey Elliott exited the club for Aston Villa on an initial loan deal.
An unused substitute when the Reds beat the Gunners, Isak is poised to take the midfielder’s place on the bench against Burnley.
But further changes are also needed with Curtis Jones ruled out of the trip to Turf Moor because of injury. In contrast, Jeremie Frimpong is available again after returning to training this week following a hamstring injury.
Slot left Giovanni Leoni out of his matchday squad for the victory over Arsenal and will need to leave out senior players again against Burnley.
The Liverpool head coach is allowed to name a 20-man matchday squad, but, excluding the injured Jones, currently has 28 players to choose from after the club's 24-man senior Premier League squad was confirmed on Friday.
Admittedly, from that 24, you can discount the likes of Rhys Williams, Calvin Ramsay and Fabian Mrozek, with the trio instead working with Rob Page’s Under-21s side.
Stefan Bajcetic is still working his back after undergoing surgery on a hamstring injury, while third-choice and fourth-choice goalkeepers Freddie Woodman and Armin Pecsi are also obvious players to leave out of the matchday squad when Alisson Becker and Giorgi Mamardashvili are both available.
But that still leaves two available players that Slot will need to leave out at Turf Moor.
Trey Nyoni was on the bench against Bournemouth on the opening day of the season, before being left out of the squad against both Newcastle and Arsenal. While he could be overlooked again, the absence of Jones could also open the door to the midfielder.
Rio Ngumoha has been on the bench for all three of Liverpool’s Premier League outings so far, scoring a late winner on his debut against Newcastle. It is possible that the arrival of Isak could see the 17-year-old drop out, though, alternatively, Slot might include him at Federico Chiesa’s expense having already opted for the teenager over the Italian in his Champions League squad.
Meanwhile, Leoni could also be left out again as Slot weighs up who to include in his travelling party.
From the win over Arsenal, Elliott and Jones will both definitely drop out with Isak and Frimpong poised to take their places in the 20-man quota.
But that will still leave the likes of Chiesa, Ngumoha, Nyoni and Leoni likely competing for the final two places in the matchday squad, with two players set to be left out as a result.