Newcastle-Liverpool Preview: Rodgers boasts his “strongest squad of the season”

Newcastle United – Liverpool

Date: 19th October

Venue: St. James’ Park

KO: 12.45pm

The Premier League is back this weekend, and the opening game sees Newcastle host second-placed Liverpool.

Team News

Newcastle United:

The Magpies will be without their captain after Fabricio Coloccini returned from international duty with a groin injury that definitely rules him out of Saturday’s game and will sideline him for an indefinite period.

His fellow countryman, Jonas Gutierrez, will also be missing from the match after returning to his homeland for personal reasons.

Steven Taylor is the favourite to replace Coloccini in the side as Mapa Yanga-Mbiwa’s career on Tyneside looks in doubt after a run of poor performances saw him dragged off at half-time in the recent defeat to Everton.

However, the last time Taylor partnered Mike Williamson in defence was November 2012 in a torrid 2-0 defeat to Southampton and fans won’t be looking forward to such a slow pairing against Suarez, Moses and Sturridge.

Liverpool:

Coutinho may not be ready for this match despite returning to training this week following surgery on his shoulder.

However, Saturday could see the defensive duo of Glen Johnson and Aly Cissokho return to the squad alongside Joe Allen, all of whom have recovered from their respective injuries. Brendan Rodgers told the media that the Newcastle game will be his ”strongest squad of the season” this tells us the shape Liverpool are in going into this fixture.

Rodgers looks set to continue with his three at the back after the formation brought back-to-back wins against Sunderland and Crystal Palace and Johnson could shine on his return in the right-wing back position.

Recent Form:

Newcastle picked up a much need victory at Cardiff before the international break after back-to-back defeats to Hull and Everton saw them fall down the table.

Their home form has been erratic though, with one win, one draw, and one defeat leaving the Geordie faithful feeling frustrated.

Contrary to their opponents Liverpool find themselves enjoying one of the best starts to a season in their recent history. Sitting joint top with Arsenal, the Reds have surprised many with their style of play that has seen them play several different formations this season all with reasonable success rates.

A 1-0 home defeat to Southampton is the only blot on their record so far this season and Rodgers will be looking to take all three points and keep the pressure up on their title rivals.

Players To Watch:

Newcastle: Loic Remy

The flying Frenchman has taken the pressure off Hatem Ben Arfa in recent weeks, scoring 5 goals in his first 5 games for the club, including a match-winning display at Cardiff two weeks ago. All 5 of his goals so far have found the bottom corner, showing him to be one of the best finishers in the league.

Liverpool: Daniel Sturridge

It looks likely to be a game full of goals and Daniel Sturridge will be drooling at the prospect of facing Williamson and Taylor, knowing he can use his speed get beyond his marker.

When he has got through on goal he has been in lethal form so far this season, scoring 6 goals in 7 games to lead the Premier League scoring charts.

It promises to be a fantastic battle between himself and Tim Krul who, despite his weaknesses, excels in one-on-one situations and with Sturridge fond of getting as close to the goal as possible before he shoots, Krul could be a key player on Saturday.

Prediction:

Alan Pardew will be looking for the win come Saturday and this will open the game up. Expect plenty of goals but it certainly won’t be a similar thrashing to last season, where Liverpool embarrassed the Magpies by putting 6 past them in front of their own fans.

With the home fans behind them I can see Newcastle picking up a point here in a score-draw. 0-0

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