The Premier League title race was blown wide open last night after Arsenal surrendered a two-goal advantage to draw at bottom side Wolves.
Up next for Mikel Arteta’s men is a mouth-watering North London derby clash with bitter rivals Tottenham on Sunday.
Before that, there are a whole host of big Premier League fixtures to kick-start the weekend, not least Newcastle’s trip to the Etihad Stadium on Saturday night.
Stay tuned with Daily Mail Sport for the latest from the likes of Arne Slot, Liam Rosenior and Daniel Farke as they preview their side’s weekend clashes.
Alexander Isak is set to make his return for Liverpool at the end of next month after boss Arne Slot issued an update on the £125million striker’s ongoing recovery.
Isak has been out of action for two months after undergoing surgery to a fibula and ankle fracture suffered in Liverpool’s 2-1 win at Tottenham on December 20.
Reds boss Slot said the Sweden striker, who has endured a frustrating first season at Liverpool following his protracted move from Newcastle last summer, is on course to return to action in a matter of weeks – barring any setbacks.
Asked about a timeline for Isak’s return, Slot said: “Alex has been on the pitch, not with his football boots, but with his running shoes for the first time this week, so that will take a while as well.
‘Let’s not put a timescale on it, but it’s clear he will be available if things go as planned this season. It will be some time around there, the end of March, start of April, when he is hopefully back with the group, but that’s not to say you’re ready to play, let alone start a game
‘I’m not sure if I’m educating you, but before they go on the pitch, it’s not like they’re lying in bed 24 hours a day. They come to the training ground, do their gym work and rehab.
‘It’s nice for him to go on the pitch, it’s nice for us to see him here, because there’s still enough work to be done but you know as a player, you arrive in the final stages of your rehab. As long as you’re in the gym and not the pitch, that’s not the nicest part.
‘The next step is doing work with the ball, which every player likes the most. The next step is to come into the group and then it takes a while before you’re ready to play. But it’s nice that the rehab goes well – that’s a complement to him and our medical staff.’
Isak’s season was hampered by his lack of a pre-season last summer, when he refused to play for Newcastle and was left out of their tour in a bid to force through his move to Liverpool.
The 26-year-old has been restricted to just 16 appearances for Liverpool in all competitions this season and has managed just three goals – with only two coming in the Premier League.
Sweden play Ukraine on March 26, but Isak is unlikely to play a part in that fixture, with Liverpool keen not to take any unnecessary risks with their British transfer record signing.
Alexander Isak suffered the injury while scoring for Liverpool against Tottenham in December
The £125million signing has endured a nightmare start to his Liverpool career since his summer switch from Newcastle
Slot is convinced Isak will benefit hugely from a full pre-season with Liverpool this summer and said fans will see a different player from the one who has endured such an injury-ravaged and frustrating debut campaign on Merseyside.
‘That’s going to be a different period to know, but we also expect a different player from the end of the season to the one we had in the first part,’ said Slot. ‘That makes complete sense, because I’ve said it a hundred times that we have to give him time.
‘If a player has had four to five months of only individual training, we cannot expect that he is up to speed straight away, with the level at which we are playing.
‘So unfortunately for him and us, we haven’t used the best Alex yet, but this club and our fans will hopefully we the best Alex this season but, for sure, in the upcoming years.’
Slot also called on football to do more in the wake of the alleged racist abuse directed towards Real Madrid forward Vinicius Jr in their 1-0 Champions League play-off first leg win at Benfica on Tuesday.
Benfica’s Gianluca Prestianni was accused of directing a racial slur towards Vinicius after the Brazil forward scored, with Slot saying the football world should never stop in its campaign to eradicate such discrimination.
‘I think in general you can never do enough,’ said Slot. ‘You can always do more – and you should do more – to make sure this never happens again.
‘We have – as a football world – do more than society does. The football world reacted as you expected. We can do enough but we can never do too much.’
