· 21 August 2025, 17:00
**Newcastle United and Liverpool have been duelling all summer in some sense, but on Monday night, the two sides will meet at St James' Park in an 8 pm kick-off live on Sky Sports.**
The two clubs have been at war over Alexander Isak all summer, and Liverpool tried a risky power play which may now have blown up in their face.
Newcastle were looking to sign Hugo Ekitike to replace Alexander Isak, who has been trying to force a move to Liverpool, but when the Magpies turned down their approach for Isak, the Reds instead moved for Ekitike, signing the Frenchman ahead of Newcastle.
Now, though, Newcastle's inability to sign a top striker to replace Isak means that they won't sanction the release of the Sweden international, meaning Liverpool could miss out on their primary summer target.
Jeremie Frimpong will miss Monday's game
Arne Slot has confirmed Jeremie Frimpong will miss Monday's game at St James' Park
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tensions are going to be high amongst the two fan bases heading into the game on Monday night, and as well as stepping into a fiery cauldron, Liverpool will have to do so without one of their key players.
Summer signing Jeremie Frimpong has started life at Anfield well, but is now set to be sidelined until after the international break after being withdrawn against Bournemouth in the season opener, as confirmed by Arne Slot (via [Anfield Index](https://anfieldindex.com/85400/arne-slot-confirms-major-liverpool-injury-blow-ahead-of-newcastle-united-clash.html)).
> “The medical team was completely right about Jeremie to tell me they had to take him off, because he is out until the end of the international break and that happened in the game.
>
> _“I already said immediately after the game that it had nothing to do with how he played, but we felt he had an issue with his hamstring. And with ‘we’ I don’t mean me, but the medical staff. And they were completely right. So, a good call to take him off, otherwise he would have maybe been out for longer"_
Liverpool won't be weakened too much by the loss of Jeremie Frimpong
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Liverpool still has an impressive squad, so it's unlikely they will miss Frimpong too much on Monday, but it could still be a psychological boost to Newcastle ahead of what promises to be a very difficult game.
Newcastle will go into another Premier League game without a recognised striker, with Anthony Gordon likely to be playing as centre-forward again, so losing a key defender should give them a boost.
Would it be too much to ask for Alexander Isak to apologise, sack his agent and return to training in time to play a part on Monday night and score a winning goal, kiss the badge and gesture that he's staying at St James' Park? Yeah, probably.