After a comfortable win over West Ham United, Liverpool will hope to make it four wins in a row in all competitions when they take on Newcastle United. Jürgen Klopp’s side are right behind Manchester United in the league table and like last weekend, they will temporarily move up to second if they beat the Magpies.
Newcastle, coached by fan-favourite and former Reds boss Rafael Benitez, themselves have managed a decent run of form of late. They are unbeaten in four games, and though they have managed just one win in that run, they have held their own at the back.
The last time the two sides faced off, Philippe Coutinho’s goal was cancelled out by a scrappy goal by Joselu. Back then, Benitez decided to play a pretty pragmatic approach and I’d be surprised if anything changes come Saturday as defence is undoubtedly the Tyneside outfit’s strongest suit.
Liverpool have a pretty good squad of players now that all of them have returned from their injuries, so they’ll start as favourites. Here’s how the Reds could line-up for the clash…
Defence
Loris Karius has gotten better with each game and the fans will hope he can continue his consistent displays in goal. Virgil van Dijk and Joel Matip are expected to start at the heart of the defence while Andy Robertson and Trent Alexander-Arnold could play as the two full-backs.
Nathaniel Clyne is back in full training and we could see him playing a few minutes and getting the nod for the game against Porto which seems like a formality more than anything else.
Midfield
Jordan Henderson is in line to start as the deepest midfielder. Emre Can and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain are likely to support him in the midfield. Despite all the speculation surrounding Can’s future, he has put in top-notch displays for the club. Adam Lallana is waiting in the wings, though, so Can can’t afford to take his foot off the gas.
Attack
Will be a surprise if we see anyone else in place of the front three of Sadio Mane, Roberto Firmino and Mohamed Salah.
All three of them scored last time against West Ham and now that Liverpool have pretty much sealed a place in the Champions League quarterfinals, Klopp will start them in the league and possibly rest them during the midweek fixture to keep them fresh for the big tie against Manchester United next weekend.