Eddie Howe claims Newcastle United will have to be 'perfect' against Liverpool, provides response when asked how Magpies will stop Mohamed Salah

Newcastle United manager Eddie Howe has insisted that his team will have to perform at the highest level to stop Mohamed Salah in their league clash against Liverpool on Wednesday.

The Magpies, who won 4-3 against Nottingham Forest in their last league match, will take on the Reds at Anfield this week. They registered a thrilling 3-3 draw in the reverse league game at St. James' Park last December.

At a pre-match press conference, Howe remarked (h/t Tribal Football):

"We need to be close to perfect from our perspective. Learning from the [recent 4-0 league loss] against Manchester City would be a good starting point for us where we didn't execute the aggressive gameplan that we wanted and we didn't attack the game well enough. We need to learn from that. Anfield is a great environment to play football in but not good if you're not totally there."

When asked about his plans to stop Salah from scoring, Howe replied:

"That's going to be a challenge for us. It's always not down to any one individual in the team, although he will naturally come up against one opponent, it's about the team supporting that area of the pitch."

Howe, who has helped Newcastle sit in fifth spot in the league, added:

"I think against Arsenal at home in the Carabao Cup is a great game to reflect on. We defended in twos, threes, fours. We had a mentality that we wanted to defend our goal to the highest level. I don't think we've consistently had that in recent weeks but we're going to need that in this game."

So far this campaign, Salah has been in imperious form for Liverpool. The 32-year-old winger has netted 30 goals, 25 in the league, and provided 21 assists, 16 in the league, in 38 total club games in all competitions.

Liverpool's Arne Slot opines on Alexander Isak

Asked about Alexander Isak, Liverpool boss Arne Slot replied (h/t Mirror):

"Understatement to say in fine form, he is in excellent form. The team performance will help control him. The more ball possession we have, the more we can control him, although he is dangerous on counter-attacks. But we have two very good centre-backs, which is what you need when you face the quality of Isak."

Isak, 25, has found the back of the opposition net 21 times and provided five assists in 30 total appearances for Eddie Howe's side this campaign.

The Sweden international is reportedly a top transfer target for Liverpool.