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The Reds look to continue their bounce back from a disappointing string of results to start the season.
Liverpool vs Newcastle
| Wednesday, August 31st |
Premier League | Anfield
8PM BST / 3PM EST
After a full week’s rest between matches lead to a failure to win any of their first three attempts, Liverpool will hope the more sustained rhythm of a game every three days will provide greater success, as they play hosts to Newcastle on Wednesday night.
The Premier League’s newest sports washing project have made a decent start to the season, drawing three straight — including against blood money compatriots Manchester City — after beating newly promoted Nottingham Forest on opening day, and sit seventh in the table, not far out from where many predict they will end the campaign.
Injuries to key players such as Allan Saint-Maximin, Callum Wilson and Bruno Guimarães, along with the uncertain availability of Alexander Isak, however, will dent their hopes of threatening the hosts tomorrow, and Anfield shouldn’t be shocked to see Chris Wood start up top for the Magpies.
Projected Liverpool Lineup (4-3-3)
Alisson; Alexander-Arnold, Gomez, van Dijk, Robertson; Fabinho, Henderson, Elliott; Díaz, Firmino, Salah
For the Reds, the injury situation is reportedly improving — Curtis Jones and Joël Matip are back in training, while Diogo Jota and Thiago should be able to partake later this week — but the starting XI continues to largely pick itself for the time being.
Trent Alexander-Arnold and Andrew Robertson will man the fullback spots, while Joe Gomez and Virgil van Dijk continue their partnership in the centre of defence, and some combination of Fabinho, Jordan Henderson, James Milner and Harvey Elliott will make up the midfield three.
Up top, Darwin Núñez will serve the last game of his three-match suspension, while Fabio Carvalho will continue to back up the starting trio of Luis Díaz, Roberto Firmino and Mohamed Salah.
What the Managers Said
Jürgen Klopp: “Newcastle are a great club and obviously has had a lot of success in the past and now for a few years not that much anymore. They have now everything you need to be a top-six, or whatever that means, club.”
Eddie Howe: “I don’t know if there is a good time to play Liverpool. Man City and Liverpool were the leading lights of the division and the hardest teams to play against but we will look forward to it.“
The Officials
Referee: Andre Marriner
Assistant referees: Simon Long, Richard West
Fourth official: David Coote
VAR: Andy Madley, Wade Smith
Kickoff is set for 8PM GMT/3PM EST tomorrow, and television listings for the match can be found on LiveSoccerTV.
In the meantime, and as always, we’ll be keeping you updated with all the buildup to the game, including team news as it’s released, our live matchday thread, and post-match recaps from The Liverpool Offside staff. If you want to join the discussion, sign up for an SB Nation account to have your say on the action as it happens.
