Liverpool XI vs Burnley: Isak debut, predicted lineup, confirmed team news and injury latest | OneFootball

New £125m signing will hope to make his first Reds appearance

Alexander Isak is in line to make his Liverpool debut against Burnley.

But Arne Slot has said he will not rush Isak into the team and the striker is likely to be on the bench, having not had a proper pre-season as he tried to force his move from Newcastle.

Isak went straight on international duty after his switch to Anfield was completed, joining up with the Sweden squad for their latest pair of 2026 World Cup qualifiers.

Alexander Isak trained with Liverpool for the first time this week

Liverpool FC via Getty Images

He was an unused substitute in the 2-2 draw with Slovenia and only played 18 minutes off the bench in Monday night’s shock 2-0 loss to Kosovo in Pristina, with Sweden coach Jon Dahl Tomasson being careful with his workload following talks with Slot and between the respective team physios.

Though Isak has trained with his new team-mates in recent days, he remains well short of full match fitness and Slot has quickly moved to temper expectations with regards to his involvement in his early weeks at Liverpool, where he will be eased along carefully despite some important fixtures coming up against the likes of Atletico Madrid and Everton.

"Don't expect him every single game 90 minutes on the pitch – that's definitely not going to happen in the upcoming weeks,” said Slot ahead of the Burnley game.

"He missed a proper pre-season, I think he missed three or four months of team sessions, so now we have to build him up gradually with us playing so many games and [having] very little training time.

"So, that's going to be a challenge but we've signed him not only for the upcoming two weeks, we've signed him, I think, for six years so this is what we have to keep in mind and what the fans have to keep in mind if they see that I take him off at a certain moment or I only bring him in for a small amount of minutes. That's all for the long-term fitness of the player."

Curtis Jones will play no part against Burnley, with Slot revealing that the midfielder suffered a knock during the win over Arsenal before the international break.

Jeremie Frimpong has returned to training after missing the last two matches with a hamstring injury and should feature, while Ibrahima Konate shrugged off a late scare against Arsenal to play two full games for France.

Dominik Szoboszlai - whose stunning free-kick saw off the Gunners in an early season battle of familiar title rivals - has impressed at right-back with Frimpong out and Conor Bradley only just back from his own injury, though you’d expect one of the specialists in the position to take over this weekend.

That should be Frimpong if fit enough, otherwise Bradley should step in. It would seem harsh to drop Szoboszlai after his heroics against Arsenal so he could move back into midfield here, with Alexis Mac Allister a potential candidate to make way after his recent international exertions with Argentina.

If Slot wants to freshen things up further with Liverpool’s Champions League opener and a Merseyside derby clash on the way next week, then the likes of Joe Gomez, Andy Robertson, Wataru Endo and Federico Chiesa are all potential options, along with teenage sensation Rio Ngumoha.

Predicted Liverpool XI (4-2-3-1): Alisson; Frimpong, Konate, Van Dijk, Kerkez; Gravenberch, Szoboszlai; Salah, Wirtz, Gakpo; Ekitike

Injured: Jones

Time and date: 2pm BST on Sunday September 14, 2025

Venue: Turf Moor, Burnley

How to watch: Sky Sports