Earning a positive result on the road against Liverpool will be difficult for Newcastle United, but what lineup will give them the best chance?
The international break is finally over and the Premier League will be back in session this weekend. While it will be great to see Newcastle United take the field again after a two-week break, it is difficult to generate any optimism seeing that our opponent is Liverpool. The Magpies are major underdogs in this clash and the primary objective should be to steal a point against the defending European champions.
Jurgen Klopp is facing a bit of a dilemma regarding his player selection seeing that so many of his players are traveling back to Merseyside after being on international duty. In addition, the Reds will have to travel to Italy immediately after facing the Magpies to play Napoli in the Champions League on Tuesday. Steve Bruce does not have the same problem, but he must decide what players he believes can best handle the pace, pressure and offensive tactics implemented by Liverpool.
Best Lineup for Newcastle United
On paper, we know Bruce will have a 3-5-2 formation in place, however, once Liverpool begins spreading the ball around early on, Newcastle United will become defensive and live off the counter-attack. That being said, the following lineup is the one I believe will give Newcastle United the best chance to take something from this game:
Formation: 3-5-2
- GK: Martin Dubravka
- DEF: Fabian Schar, Jamaal Lascelles, Paul Dummett
- MID: Jetro Willems, Isaac Hayden, Jonjo Shelvey, Sean Longstaff, Miguel Almiron
- ATT: Joelinton, Yoshinori Muto
Most of the players in this lineup have been regular starters since the start of the season, but the names I want to highlight in my proposed lineup are Willems, Almiron and Muto. Willems is an experienced player who can control the ball well and he boasts plenty of pace, which will help the Magpies cover a lot of ground in a short amount of time on both ends of the pitch.
The reason why I have Muto up top and Almiron out wide is because Almiron has not created meaningful chances as a striker in the first four games of the season. Almiron has a greater impact on the game when he gets frequent touches in midfield to orchestrate an attack. Muto is looking to prove himself and playing in the shadow of Joelinton, who will attract most of the defensive attention, could help Muto find more open space to have some good looks at goal inside the penalty area.
Most of us are in agreement that Liverpool are heavy favorites to win this game, so with nothing to lose so early in the season on the road against a title contender, Bruce should take a chance and give Muto an opportunity as a starter.