Arne Slot says Alexander Isak likely out of Liverpool-Aston Villa, Ryan Gravenberch may start

Arne Slot will make a late decision on whether Ryan Gravenberch can start against Aston Villa but Liverpool record signing Alexander Isak and midfielder Curtis Jones are expected to miss the Saturday night clash at Anfield.

Midfielder Gravenberch has been absent since picking up an ankle injury in Liverpool’s 2-1 defeat by Manchester United on October 19 while striker Isak and midfielder Jones both have groin issues.

“Ryan trained with us yesterday and the other two didn’t yet,” Slot said. “In the end phase of the injury things can slow down a bit or go faster, let’s wait and see where they are.

“Ryan trained with us for the first time yesterday, he will train with us today and then we will make the call if he can be able start and the other two are probably 99.9 per cent not in the squad.”

Alisson [hamstring], Jeremie Frimpong [hamstring] and Giovanni Leoni [ACL] all remain out ahead of the visit of Villa.

Liverpool take on Unai Emery’s side in desperate need of three points given their slump in form which has seen them lose their last four Premier League games and six of their last seven in all competitions.

They have failed to keep a clean sheet since beating Burnley on September 14 and they conceded three against Crystal Palace in a midweek Carabao Cup defeat to make it 10 games on the bounce in which they have conceded.

Slot insists the defence is not the major concern so does not feel he has to go against his beliefs to play more defensively to get them out of their current slump, which has left the Premier League champions seven points behind leaders Arsenal after nine games.

“It does go against my beliefs but I have won games in the past, so we are talking City away [last season] that went against my beliefs but it was necessary to play it over there, like in the second half,” said Slot.

“I would be more than open to adapt in certain situations but I don’t think the story is, at least in my opinion, that we concede chance after chance after chance and we are too open.

“I don’t see us conceding a lot of chances so I don’t see a reason to change our playing style completely but yeah we need to do better in not conceding goals, that’s for sure.”

Slot was questioned about his comments after the Carabao Cup defeat by Palace. The Dutchman made 10 changes for the game, including naming three teenagers in the starting line-up and a bench full of youth players. He cited injuries as one of the reasons for the huge rotation which sparked debate given Liverpool’s big summer spending.

“I am completely happy with the team, all the quality that we have and completely convinced with the strategy and the policy we have but the issue, if you could talk about an issue, is not all of them have had a proper pre-season or have been injured during the season,” he said.

“When three or four are injured so then you go back to 16 players. I am a firm believer that 20 or 21 players are enough but then you have to keep them fit as we did last season.”

Slot, who signed a three-year contract when he was appointed in 2024, was asked if he has had contract talks with the club.

“The first thought is to win again, that’s where my main focus is on,” added Slot.