(Football news) The most recent match between the Magpies and treble winners Manchester City ended in a 1-0 loss for the Magpies, while Liverpool overcame a deficit to defeat Bournemouth 3-1 at Anfield. Some Newcastle supporters might have travelled to the Etihad quietly in the hopes of defeating a Manchester City team still reeling from their UEFA Super Cup heroics after hitting Aston Villa for five in a lively attacking effort on the opening day.
But at the Etihad, it was not to be for Howe’s team as the vivacious Phil Foden set up Julian Alvarez for the game-winning goal in the 31st minute. If Erling Haaland hadn’t forgotten his shooting boots in the locker room, the Citizens would have likely won by more and probably could have.
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 gameweek 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 against Liverpool, who, unlike Howe’s team, managed to overcome a one-goal deficit to win last weekend.
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.
The newest signee Bournemouth took advantage of Liverpool’s obvious lack of a defensive presence in midfield after Wataru Endo was only assessed fit for the bench. However, the Reds quickly regained their rhythm and rallied thanks to goals from Luis Diaz, Mohamed Salah, and Diogo Jota.
Even an Alexis Mac Allister red card in the second half, which has since been overturned, had no effect on Liverpool’s momentum in the final 30 minutes. However, as usual, Alisson Becker had to save his team on a few occasions in the closing moments to help the Reds score at the second attempt.
The win over Bournemouth extended Liverpool’s Premier League winning streak to 13 games since April’s humiliating loss to Manchester City. Jurgen Klopp’s team has also scored in 12 of those games, and their 113 goals against Newcastle are the most they have ever scored against a single opponent in Premier League history.
Liverpool overcame Newcastle 2-0 at St James’ Park in February to earn their fourth straight victory against the Magpies, who memorably fell victim to Fabio Carvalho’s dramatic Anfield winner nearly exactly a year prior thanks to a rush of blood to the head and consequent red card.
When Joelinton left the game in the second half due to an injury, Newcastle’s Etihad experience took a turn for the worst. However, Howe said on Friday that the Brazilian should be OK for the weekend.
Sean Longstaff, or perhaps the rising Should Joelinton not be selected, Elliot Anderson will compete to start in Joelinton’s place. Emil Krafth (ACL) and Joe Willock (thigh) are both out of the running, while Javier Manquillo (groyne) has resumed training.
Harvey Barnes lost out to Anthony Gordon for the left wing position against Man City despite his impactful performances off the bench against Villa in gameweek one, but Howe should think about starting the former Leicester City player today.
New signing Dan Burn will likely be anticipated to hold down the fort at left-back for the time being, but 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.
While Klopp has reiterated that Mohamed Salah is still “100%” committed to Liverpool despite Al-Ittihad’s frantic attempts to lure him away from Merseyside before the transfer window closes, Joel Matip and Joe Gomez are prepared to step up if Konate is not given the go-ahead.
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