Liverpool will have to cope without having Hugo Ekitike at their disposal when they travel to Selhurst Park to take on Crystal Palace in the Premier League on Saturday.
The French centre-forward is set to be suspended for the trip to London because of the red card that he picked up in the 2-1 win over Southampton in the League Cup at Anfield on Tuesday night.
Ekitike came off the bench at half-time in the win over the Championship side. He made an impact as a substitute by netting the winner late in the second half, converting into an open net from Federico Chiesa’s pass.
However, joy quickly turned to confusion as the referee showed a red card to the forward, who had taken his shirt off to celebrate his finish in front of the Anfield crowd.
This means that Arne Slot will be without the summer signing from Eintracht Frankfurt for the clash with Palace, after Ekitike started the first five matches of the Premier League season.
The Liverpool head coach now has a decision to make on whether or not to play club-record signing Alexander Isak from the start at Selhurst Park.
Why Alexander Isak may not start against Crystal Palace
Despite arriving at Anfield from Newcastle for £125m, a British record fee, during the summer transfer window, it is not a certainty that the Sweden international will start against the Eagles.
Because of the drawn-out transfer saga, Isak did not have a pre-season with the Magpies and did not feature in the opening weeks of the 2025/26 campaign, which means that he is still short on match fitness.
The Liverpool number nine has yet to play more than 58 minutes in any of his three appearances for the club, per Sofascore, and came off at half-time against Southampton after scoring his first goal for the Reds.
This shows that Slot and the medical team are being careful with Isak and slowly building him up, rather than chucking him straight into full 90-minute appearances.
24/25
3
9
23/24
2
12
22/23
1
17
21/22
2
5
20/19
0
0
19/20
0
0
18/19
5
15
17/18
1
8
As you can see in the table above, Isak has far from a spotless injury record during his career, which is why they may want to be extra careful with him to avoid causing any unwanted muscle injuries.
With his fitness and Ekitike’s suspension in mind, Liverpool may save Isak to come off the bench because of their lack of senior centre-forward options to play in the crucial stage of the match.
Assuming, based on how his appearances have gone so far, that the Swedish striker is not ready to play the full 90 minutes, Liverpool would be in danger of potentially having to substitute the £125m forward in the second half whilst chasing a result.
Instead of running that risk, the Reds could go with a wildcard replacement for Ekitike by unleashing a different player in that role and subbing Isak on to finish the match in the second half.
Chalkboard
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Slot brought Jayden Danns on in the second half against Southampton on Tuesday night, and the 19-year-old academy graduate could be the wildcard replacement for Ekitike to lead the line until Isak is introduced on Saturday.
Why Liverpool should unleash Jayden Danns
The teenage centre-forward provided the fans with a reminder that he is physically ready for first-team football by winning all three of his duels in 15 minutes off the bench against the Saints, per Sofascore.
Danns has scored two goals for club and country at youth level so far this season, per Sofascore, and looks to be getting back to his best after an injury put an end to his loan spell at Sunderland in the second half of the 2024/25 campaign.
The England U20 international first arrived on the first-team scene under Jurgen Klopp with two goals against Southampton in the FA Cup in 2024.
Danns also scored off the bench against Accrington Stanley in a 4-0 win for Liverpool in the FA Cup under Slot at the start of this year, before his loan move to Sunderland and subsequent injury troubles ended his campaign.
This means that he has already had a tiny bit of success at first-team level at Anfield, with three senior goals under his belt, which is why throwing him in from the start against Crystal Palace may not be the worst idea in the world.
Liverpool U18s
33
24 + 4
Liverpool U21s
12
4 + 2
Liverpool first-team
10
3 + 0
England U18s
9
0 + 0
England U16s
3
2 + 0
Liverpool Youth League
2
1 + 0
England U20s
1
1 + 0
As you can see in the table above, Danns has scored goals at an impressive rate for almost every team he has played for at senior and youth level.
U23 scout Antonio Mango described the striker as being “extra prolific” because of his intelligence and movement off the ball. His goal against Southampton in the earlier clip is a great example of those attributes in action.
The 19-year-old star, who made one appearance in the Premier League last season, is an exciting prospect and appears to have the physical and technical qualities to hold his own in the first-team already.
This is why he could be an ideal option to lead the line from the start against Crystal Palace on Saturday. That would provide Danns with a huge opportunity to showcase his quality, whilst also allowing Liverpool to end the game with Isak leading the line.
It could be an ideal solution to the problem facing Slot, with Ekitike’s suspension, as it would prevent the Reds from being in a position where they are chasing a result but have to substitute their star striker whilst doing so.