Alexander Isak absence explained as Arne Slot resorts to naming six under-21s on the bench

Alexander Isak is a notable omission from the Liverpool starting XI to face Manchester United at Old Trafford this afternoon.

He and Mo Salah are the two players to miss out from the victory over Crystal Palace last weekend, in which the Egyptian winger went off with a muscle injury he has since confirmed to be minor.

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There were reports from some sources in the 24 hours prior to kick-off today that the Reds’ record signing would miss this fixture, and confirmation of the team news would indicate that those were accurate.

Isak misses out with minor injury

After the teams were announced, Paul Gorst wrote for the Liverpool Echo that Isak misses out due to a ‘minor groin issue’, adding: ‘I’m told it’s not seen as a serious one but the club are in no mood to take any risks with a player who only returned from four months out with a broken leg, sustained before Christmas.’

The reporter added: ‘It’s a shame in one sense but the plan has to be absolutely about getting Isak right because Liverpool have bet the house on the £125m man.

‘You do worry where the goals will come from today, however, with no Mohamed Salah, Hugo Ekitike or Isak. Cody Gakpo simply has to step up and put in the sort of performance he did so often last season… let’s not sugarcoat it, there is very little firepower in this team today.’

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Yet another setback for cruelly unlucky Isak

With Salah and Ekitike already ruled out, Isak’s absence for the visit to Old Trafford has indeed left Liverpool worryingly short in attack, and a multitude of injuries throughout the squad have forced Arne Slot to name an extremely youthful substitutes’ bench.

At 22 years and six months, Milos Kerkez is the third-oldest player in reserve for the Reds today, with no fewer than half a dozen under-21s on the bench (Armin Pecsi, Trey Nyoni, Rio Ngumoha, Kieran Morrison, Will Wright and – for the first time in a senior fixture – Mor Talla Ndiaye).

The Swedish striker’s first season at Anfield has been largely a write-off, having arrived from Newcastle lacking in match fitness and then missed almost four months with a broken leg, having only recently returned to action.

His nicely-taken finish against Palace last weekend offered hope that he’d enjoy a strong end to the campaign, but unfortunately his momentum has been disrupted again by the groin problem which has ruled him out today.

The decision to omit Isak has clearly been made with the bigger picture in mind, but in terms of facing Man United this afternoon, he’ll be a big miss for Liverpool, who’ll be relying on Gakpo, Dominik Szoboszlai and Florian Wirtz to make up for the major loss of firepower elsewhere.

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