Arne Slot played his cards close to his chest when asked if Alexander Isak would start for Liverpool against Everton in the Merseyside derby.
Isak has yet to appear in the Premier League for Liverpool after joining the club in a £125m British record deal from Newcastle on deadline day.
The striker was left out of Liverpool’s squad for the top-flight clash against Burnley so he could focus on training and building up his match fitness.
But Isak started Liverpool’s 3-2 Champions League win over Atletico Madrid on Wednesday, playing for 58 minutes on his Reds debut.
Hugo Ekitike has started all four of Liverpool’s Premier League games so far this season, with the £79m summer signing scoring two goals.
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Liverpool head coach Slot usually deploys a 4-3-3 formation, meaning Isak and Ekitike are likely to battle it out to be the club’s main striker this term.
The Premier League champions host Everton in their next match on Saturday, with Slot quizzed on Friday if Isak would start the game or not.
‘I don’t think I tell the media a lot the day before a game,’ Slot told reporters in his pre-match press conference before the Merseyside derby at Anfield.
‘We had recovery yesterday and we are going to train this afternoon. First of all we just have to see how they all feel.
‘All I know is Alex probably felt his body more than ever before after the 60 minutes he played [against Atletico] so let’s see how he recovered today then we will see about the line-up later today and you will see tomorrow.’
Could Isak and Ekitike start together?
Slot has hinted that Ekitike and Isak could both start against Everton, with the former striker being able to play on the left wing in his 4-3-3 formation.
‘I consider many things and it depends always on how well they are doing,’ Slot said when asked if Ekitike and Isak could play together.
‘If both of them are in the best form of their life then you consider more to play them together but it is quite clear that we have a certain structure of 4-3-3.
‘But the amount of times [in] the end phase where we have ended the game with two nines has happened a lot as well.
‘Hugo can play from the left, different from the way Cody (Gakpo) and Rio (Ngumoha) do this and that’s the good thing about our squad.
‘We have multiple options but first of all they all have to stay fit to have these options.
‘If all of them are not fit then we may have to use them both in a 4-4-2 but that all depends on the form of them and how many players we have available.’
