In the pick of the Sunday fixtures, Newcastle host Liverpool at St James’ Park. In their most recent match, treble winners Manchester City defeated the Magpies 1-0. At Anfield, the Reds overcame a deficit to defeat Bournemouth 3-1.
Preview (Newcastle vs. Liverpool)
Some Newcastle supporters may have traveled to the Etihad quietly in the hopes of defeating a Manchester City team still reeling from their triumphs in the UEFA Super Cup after their vibrant attacking effort on the opening day had struck Aston Villa for five goals. Eddie Howe’s team at the Etihad Stadium would not be victorious. The energetic Phil Foden set up Julian Alvarez for the game-winning goal in the 31st minute. The Citizens should have won by a larger margin had Erling Haaland not forgotten his shooting boots.
Howe left the Etihad with a bad taste in his mouth, feeling that his team had fallen short of the lofty expectations they had set after their merciless victory over Aston Villa, while Haaland had a bad day in front of goal. Although early-season standings are undoubtedly meaningless at this point, the Magpies are currently seventh in the table heading into the third game of the season. However, the hosts this weekend have only managed one clean sheet in their last 13 Premier League games. On the other hand, since the start of 2022, Newcastle has only lost three times at St James’ Park in the Premier League, however two of those losses have come to Liverpool.
Chaos reigned supreme during Liverpool’s match against Bournemouth last weekend at Anfield even before some supporters had taken their seats. With just three minutes remaining, Antoine Semenyo scored a goal for the Cherries after Andoni Iraola’s team had an early goal disallowed. However, the Reds soon found their rhythm and fought back through Luis Diaz’s acrobatic strike. Mohamed Salah’s penalty rebound, and Diogo Jota’s tap-in.
Team News
When Joelinton left the game due to an injury, Newcastle’s Etihad experience took a turn for the worse. However, Howe said on Friday that the Brazilian should be OK for the weekend. Emil Krafth (ACL) and Joe Willock (thigh) are both out of the running, while Javier Manquillo (groin) has resumed training. Harvey Barnes lost out to Anthony Gordon for the left-wing position against Man City. This is despite his impactful performances off the bench against Villa in game week one. Howe should think about starting the former Leicester City player today.
Dan Burn will likely be anticipated to hold down the fort at left-back for the time being. Lewis Hall should also put his name in the pot for a debut this weekend. As previously mentioned, Mac Allister’s controversial dismissal from Liverpool’s victory over Newcastle has now been reversed on appeal. As a result, the Argentine is free to resume his position in the Reds’ midfield, where Endo might make his first Premier League start. Curtis Jones (ankle) and Thiago Alcantara (hip) won’t be fit for this match just yet, and Ibrahima Konate has also become a new question mark. However, Klopp has assured Liverpool supporters that Trent Alexander-Arnold is well after an injury scare last week.
Newcastle 2 – 2 Liverpool
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