Saturday Night Lights: Liverpool vs. Newcastle | OneFootball

The Saturday night entertainment comes by way of Merseyside, where Liverpool hosts Newcastle United. The reverse fixture back in August was a thriller with 10-man Newcastle fighting back from two-nil down to draw level, only to be struck down by teenager Rio Ngumoha’s 90+10-minute last-gasp winner.

Liverpool goes into the weekend sitting in sixth place with 36 points, just two points behind Manchester United in fourth.

Newcastle are down in ninth on 33 points, just three behind this weekend’s opponents. A victory in this clash would have them leapfrog Liverpool on goal difference.

The Host’s Concerns

Liverpool will be looking to shake off their abysmal Premier League form, winless in their last five league games, in a fixture Newcastle has failed to win in their last 29 visits to Anfield. That is the Magpies’ joint-longest winless run against any opponent away in their history.

Both teams were involved in midweek action as the Reds cemented their place in the last 16 of the Champions League with a fruitful 6-0 win against Qarabag FK, leaving them fourth overall. Newcastle’s battling midweek Champions League draw against PSG saw them drop out of the top eight and into the play-off spots.

Liverpool manager Arne Slot is clear that the aim for his reigning Premier League Champions is to challenge for both the UCL trophy and qualify for next season’s tournament via a top four league finish.

Talking about their recent tough run of results and the matches ahead, he said: “We already thought that every period was pivotal. That hasn’t changed,” he said in his pre-match press conference.

“The closer you come to the end, the fewer opportunities you have to make a mistake. We are now in a position where we cannot afford any mistakes; we have made far too many.

“”Every game is crucial but the way we have positioned ourselves now makes every game more crucial. That is what we want to achieve [top four].”

The Visitor’s Goals

Newcastle manager Eddie Howe (left) is also targeting European qualification again going into a match which could have featured a meeting with his former striker Alexander Isak. The Swedish striker moved to Liverpool in a protracted $179M deal in the summer but is now out with a broken leg.

Howe said: “You lose a player like Alex. And let’s put this right, Liverpool paid the money they did because he’s an outstanding footballer, an unbelievable talent. We were privileged to have him for the years that we had him. We loved working with him.

“He was an outstanding player. When you take that player away from your team, it’s going to change the dynamics, that’s for sure. Then you have to try to find a way of, not replacing him, but finding a player or players who can still make the team really effective.

“We’re still in that moment and we’ve been trying to do that all season. I think the guys who have come in have done a very good job.”

Injuries & Line-Ups

Liverpool team news sees Jeremie Frimpong out with a muscle injury sustained in midweek. Curtis Jones and Ibrahima Konaté return to the squad.

Newcastle will make a late call on Bruno Guimarães’s availability after he missed the last two games due to injury. Guimarães will be key, if fit to start. The Brazilian has made more defensive line-breaking passes than any other player this Premier League season (35), six of those leading to goals.

Joelinton is out with a groin issue sustained in the defeat to Aston Villa last week.

Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah (below) has been involved in more league goals against Newcastle than any other side, with 19 goal involvements against the Magpies (ten goals, nine assists). An assist in this match will see him become the first player in Premier League history to record double figures for both goals and assists against a single opponent.

Liverpool are unbeaten in their last 18 league matches against the Magpies, outscoring them 41 goals to 18 during that period. Newcastle’s last victory against the Reds came in December 2015.

Following their blockbuster meeting earlier this season and the importance of the result for both sides, the match is shaping up to be an exciting contest.