Isak has been playing catch-up on the fitness front after being denied a full pre-season by the protracted transfer saga that saw him push for a move away from St James’ Park. Liverpool have tried to manage his workload carefully, but knocks have still been picked up.
Slot remains adamant that he can keep two strikers happy, with his team competing on multiple fronts at home and abroad.
The Dutch tactician said ahead of a 2-0 victory over Aston Villa last time out: “Let me use Alex as an example, he had to do his pre-season inside the season and people can then argue, 'Why do you play him?' But if I don't play him, I don't have him available and we need to have him available, because otherwise I have to play Hugo every single game.
“And I was just with Owen Hargreaves when he made the comparison between the two of them and he showed that one played 34 games last season, the other one 34 – and we play 60 over here. So, that's why I need to get Alex as soon as I can into playing as many games as he can.”
It remains to be seen when Isak will come back into contention, with it possible that he will not be seen again until after the next international break. Liverpool have two epic encounters to take in prior to domestic action shutting down, with an eagerly-anticipated meeting with Madrid set to be followed by a trip to old adversaries Manchester City on Sunday.