Liverpool attack vs Man Utd decided as Alexander Isak and Hugo Ekitike questions answered

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They may not be quite at their best at present, but there isn't a fixture bigger in English football than when bitter North West rivals Liverpool and Manchester United lock horns.The country's two most successful clubs meet at Anfield on Sunday with Reds boss Arne Slot hoping his team address a slide that has seen them lose three consecutive games for the first time in his tenure to be knocked off the Premier League summit.Key to victory over United could well be how a misfiring forward line performs having struggled to create from open play in recent weeks. Our ECHO writers have their say...READ MORE: I had one major FSG reservation but history has proven our £300m Liverpool deal correctREAD MORE: Two players give Liverpool boost as Arne Slot faces familiar problemPaul GorstHaving found a couple of his Liverpool marksmen on target during the international break, Arne Slot has a lot to ponder as he aims to end a three-game run of defeats at home to Manchester United.Cody Gakpo was on target for the Netherlands in both games, registering three in total, while Mohamed Salah fired in two himself against Djibouti before sitting out the second victory for Egypt, against Guinea-Bissau in Cairo on Sunday evening.That augurs well for Slot, particularly given Salah was rested for the Pharaohs after securing qualification for just their third-ever World Cup last week.Both Gakpo and Salah will be expected to start against United and the latter, in particular, has terrorised the Red Devils historically, with 16 goals against them across the course of his Anfield career.

That is the most he has scored against one team during his eight years on Merseyside, in fact.There is the potential for Florian Wirtz to be used off the left this Sunday but it feels like two thirds of Slot's front three against Ruben Amorim's men is pretty much secure. Most managers would only dream of having frontmen as gifted as those two to choose from week to week.Slot recently suggested the end of the break is when Isak's 'pre-season programme' designed to get him up to speed will be over with the club's fitness staff, so there would be no better time to announce your arrival than with a statement performance as the £125m man against United.Isak gets the nod for me over Ekitike with the France international in reserve if needed.Ian DoyleWith arguably eight players capable of operating in the three forward roles this season, Arne Slot should at first glance have something of a welcome headache choosing his starting attack against Manchester United.The devil, though, is in the detail.

And the reality is too many of Liverpool's forwards are not operating at anywhere near their optimum level this season.For most there is obvious mitigation, such as Alexander Isak and his attempts to regain full fitness after missing a proper pre-season.And while the international break could be of benefit to the likes of Cody Gakpo and Mohamed Salah having received a much-needed confidence from goals for their respective countries, only Hugo Ekitike has shone anywhere near consistently for the Reds this season.That's why I'd have him in from the start for the visit of United, playing down the middle ahead of Alexander Isak.Sure, there's at trip to former club Eintracht Frankfurt to come a few days later. Wirtz and Isak are obviously the main men going forward, and so they should be turned to now.If all of that sounds harsh on Hugo Ekitike then perhaps it is, but the Frenchman will have more than one eye on next Wednesday's visit to his former club Frankfurt, and I'd keep him in reserve before a start there, with Isak dropping down to the bench after what has hopefully been a successful and goalscoring Premier League outing.