NEWCASTLE UNITED VS LIVERPOOL: PREDICTED LINEUP

Liverpool travel to St. James Park to take on Eddie Howe’s rejuvenated Newcastle tomorrow. A win will take Liverpool 2 points clear of Manchester City at the top of the table. The Magpies sit 9th and will make it tough. Here’s how we think Klopp will line his side up.

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It is almost a fully fit squad available to the manager, with only Roberto Firmino and Curtis Jones absent. The Brazilian is out with a foot injury whilst Curtis is out with illness. Kostas Tsimikas was in training today having missed the midweek clash through illness.

Liverpool come into this meeting in great spirits. The Reds took a giant step towards reaching a third Champions League final in five years by beating Villarreal 2-0 at Anfield on Wednesday night. A day later, the news every Liverpool fan wanted to hear broke.

Jürgen Klopp has extended his stay at the club to 2026. Everything seems to be falling in place for the club on and off the pitch. That positivity will be needed to overcome any tired limbs or minds tomorrow. There’s barely 64 hours between the final whistle against Villarreal and kickoff tomorrow.

As such, we could see the manager make a couple of changes to freshen up the side. Newcastle are in great form and will require a lot of hard work to overcome. The gaffer has rotated to perfection throughout the season and will continue to do so here.

In goal will be Alisson Becker. The Brazilian is quietly enjoying his best season since his inaugural year at the club. He’s kept 25 clean sheets in all competitions and leads the Premier League Golden Glove race with 19 clean sheets.

Ahead of him, there could be one or two changes in the backline. One of the fullbacks could make way, with Tsimikas and Gomez available to come in and maintain the energy levels. Kostas was named Man of the Match in his last appearance and could get the nod.

Kostas Tsimikas has provided six assists in all competitions for Liverpool this season, only Mohamed Salah (14), Andy Robertson (15) and Trent Alexander-Arnold (18) have provided more.

That would then mean Trent starts again. He was taken off for the final ten minutes or so on Wednesday night as he will be required to go again tomorrow. In the heart of defence, Joel Matip will return to the XI.

The Cameroonian will likely line up alongside the ever present Virgil Van Dijk. This will be Matip’s 39th appearance of the season, an incredible tally when you consider the injury ravaged seasons he’s suffered since he joined from Shalke 04.

In midfield, we should see another change with Thiago dropping out for Naby Keita. The Spanish schemer has been in irresistible form lately but will still have to be carefully managed. He’s started each of the last four games and a fifth start in 15 days could be a step too far.

He is likely to be limited to a cameo off the bench. Fabinho and Henderson will join Keita in midfield as a result. Other options include Milner, Oxlade-Chamberlain and Elliott but it’s hard to see any of them being handed a start after so long without a consistent run of games.

In attack, we could see another alteration. Diogo Jota was restricted to a 20 minute cameo in midweek and could be restored to the lineup place of Luis Diaz. Diogo and Luis have been interchangeable on the left wing since Sadio made the striking role his own.

Mané will then take up the central role once again, with Salah lining up as usual on the right wing. A case could be made to give the Egyptian a breather but his fitness record speaks for itself. He will want to play and rightly so. He’s been named FWA Player of the Year today and will want to mark it with a good performance.

You can’t help but feel the manager’s substitutes will have a big part to play tomorrow. With the likes of Diaz, Origi and Thiago all being available, he will definitely not be lacking in quality options to call on.

Predicted team:

Alisson, Alexander-Arnold, Matip, Van Dijk, Tsimikas, Fabinho, Henderson, Keita, Salah, Mané, Jota.

Subs: Kelleher, Gomez, Konaté, Robertson, Milner, Thiago, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Diaz, Origi.