You could argue a strong thing that this year’s Carabao Cup final will see the most threatening striker in Europe against his strongest in the middle.
Alexander Isak has scored 22 goals this season in all competitions, because he reached out of a career-best count of 25, reached in 2023-24. If he wants to add that total on Sunday, he will probably get the upper hand of the Imperious Captain of Liverpool, Virgil van Dijk.
But for some tightness in his groin, Isak could have been able to get a further training against Van Dijk in last month’s Premier League match in Anfield – a match in which Newcastle was comfortably beaten after he had not registered any shot on goal.
Even without Isak in the side that night, Van Dijk ensured that he gave the Sweden International the praise he earned before their approaching struggle at Wembley.
“A final is always different and we are very wary of the threat they possess,” said Van Dijk after the 2-0 victory on February 26. “We know that Isak is definitely the most in-form striker in world football at the moment, so you know that when he is back, that will give them a boost.”
On the one hand, the broad statistics help us to draw a simple conclusion about the previous fights of the couple. Liverpool has won four and signed one of the games in which Van Dijk and Isak both started for their respective parties.
To say that the Dutch international had things on his own way about those five games, only half the story would tell.
Isak has scored three and one of the seven goals helped Newcastle managed when he is opposed to Liverpool at that time. Only Arsenal’s Gabriel Martinelli and Brighton & Hove Albion’s Solly March (both five) have more combined goals and assists against Liverpool since the beginning of 2022-23-with none of both center-forks aimed at locking horns with the middlebacks of Liverpool.
Simply put, Isak has caused Liverpool’s captain problems every time the couple shared the same turf. So what can we expect on Sunday?
Since Isak tends to drive to the left side of Newcastle’s attack, it may be that Ibrahima Konate of Liverpool is the man who must be more aware of the threat of the 25-year-old.
Is not on last season’s game, when Van Dijk was sent to you not worried, we can see the tendency of Isak to pull away from the Dutch side in his early matches, before you go to toe in his last two games against Liverpool.
There are not too many strikers that can match the physical characteristics of Van Dijk in terms of pace, strength and length, and there are signs that the 33-year-old is playing something else against Isak for that reason.
Van Dijk is usually not looking for defensive work for herself, but in every game they have played, there is a greater tendency to get Isak to destroy a threat before it really develops or that is close to his own penalty area or pushes high to follow the deeper runs of Isak.
With Isak who draws in those wider left channels in the Newcastle attack, there are even occasions that Van Dijk is willing to walk out of position to walk his own center-back to follow the Sweden International instead of passing him on to a teammate.
That is the threat he offers that Isak has the opportunity to drag Van Dijk to areas in which he does not want to be.
The captain of Liverpool regards it as something of an insult if he is once asked to turn on the post -styers and start a sprint, but he was forced to match the speed of Isak and go to the distant touchline to involve during their most recent meeting in St James’ park.
Not many Centrum-Forwards go against Van Dijk in a one-on-one battle and come the other way with the ball at their feet, but Isak managed to find the defender, who acted as a warning sign within the 15-minute 15-minute-opening opening game.
Isak had made Van Dijk clear with his movement and it was only 20 minutes later that he punished a number of unusually confused defense with an incredible finish.
Stationed between the centerbacks of Liverpool, Isak received a beaten ball from Bruno Guimaraes with his left foot. Note that the NO 14 of Newcastle is not in Van Dijk’s eye line, so that the Dutchman can turn his body quickly when the pass is made – which means that there is a period in which he does not look at the man or ball while he looks at his orientation (see frame 2 below).
As the old adage of football goes, when a striker can see the defender’s song, they know he has defeated them. Isak’s shot at a distance is sublime, but the movement and speed of the action are some Van Dijk van Binnenstebuiten to create separation.
Playing on the last line is a particularly strong part of the game of Isak. He starts the tendency to start in an offside position before he falls aside again, just like the back line of the opposition drops.
Just like an old-school no. 9, Isak will place between the center backs to prevent them from being marked and haunting the space behind following a teammate through the ball. This can be seen from the meeting of the two teams in December …
… but it is a series that has turned out to be lucrative for Isak against the Liverpool back line.
In their game in Anfield last season it was a similar series in which Anthony Gordon cut within the touchline before he played a targeted slide pass behind the Liverpool defense line. Isak hardly had to break the pass while he ran between the center backs to end Alisson.
Earlier that season it was an identical order that led to Van Dijk’s resignation in St James’ Park. Gordon comes in, Isak is placed between the center backs and newcastle’s can race forward by the ball.
If it doesn’t wipe for Van Dijk’s, where he took man Than Ball, you would probably have seen another cool finish from Isak. If it had been a less threatening Premier League striker again, you could be sure that Van Dijk would have just led his husband away from the goal without making a challenge.
The injuries and suspension problems of Newcastle mean that the side of Eddie Howe will not be at full power at Wembley – especially on their left – but they will offer a physical struggle with their typical energy across the field.
Liverpool is the only always present Prime Minister League side Howe has not beaten any competition since he was in charge of Newcastle in November 2021, but every team with Isak has a fight.
It is crucial that if a striker could be called the Kryptonite of Van Dijkoniet in recent years, this would be Isak.
(Top photo: Justin Setterfield/Getty images)