Newcastle United will need to play with composure for 90 minutes in order to earn a positive result against Liverpool.
Newcastle United will travel to Anfield tomorrow to face league leaders Liverpool for what should be a difficult match for the Magpies. Liverpool have looked dominant in every match this season and they are still undefeated with a performance record of 15 victories and three draws. Newcastle are on the opposite end of the table fighting for survival with 17 points from 18 matches.
Liverpool will enter this match as major favorites and it would not be surprising to see Newcastle keep eight or nine bodies in their own half for most of the match. To make matters even worse for Newcastle, Liverpool have not lost to the Magpies at home since 1995. Kick-off is scheduled for 3:00PM tomorrow.
Rough Homecoming for Rafa Benitez
Rafa Benitez was used to earning positive results with the Reds at Anfield on a regular basis as their manager, but now he will hope his Newcastle squad can avoid an embarrassing loss against his former team. Liverpool are clicking on all cylinders as they have already scored 39 goals and only conceded seven goals.
Newcastle have maintained their reputation for not scoring many goals with 14 this season and they will have a difficult time even approaching Liverpool’s goal tomorrow. Am I being overly pessimistic? Nah, I think I am being realistic – especially based on the weak performances we all witnessed against bottom feeders Huddersfield Town and Fulham over the last two weeks.
Newcastle will undoubtedly live off the counter-attack tomorrow and their wingers must be in top form for the offense to create some meaningful chances. Salomon Rondon is capable of scoring against top teams, but those behind him must be precise with their passing in order to feed the striker with the ball.
The only positive news for Newcastle is that Liverpool are expected to make multiple changes to their lineup for the purpose of resting some key players, primarily in midfield. The bad news, however, is that Newcastle will have to defend against some younger players who will be looking to prove themselves to Jurgen Klopp to earn more playing time.
Newcastle are being written off by every pundit out there, but if they play with composure on and off the ball they could frustrate Liverpool. The Magpies struggled with field spacing and ball movement over the last two weeks and supporters can only hope that Benitez resolved those issues in training. Anything can happen, but Liverpool are clear favorites for a reason.