Newcastle United will travel to Anfield to clash heads with the Premier League table-toppers Liverpool on Saturday afternoon. The Magpies come into this encounter on the back of an underwhelming 1-1 home draw against Watford.
Steve Bruce will hope that his players can step up to the occasion and be a hard team to beat away at Merseyside this weekend. The Tyneside outfit will likely set-up in a 5-4-1 formation so that they can defend in numbers and keep the Liverpool forwards at bay.
5-4-1 Newcastle United Predicted Lineup To Face Liverpool
Defence
Martin Dubravka will operate as Bruce’s first-choice keeper once again despite failing to earn a clean sheet against the Hornets before the international break. The Magpies might opt for a back three of Paul Dummett, Jamaal Lascelles and Fabian Schar as they try to keep the Liverpool attackers quiet on Saturday.
The Newcastle centre-backs will need to be at their best if they are to cope with the threats of Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino at Anfield.
Emil Krafth will play as the right wing-back as he looks to put in a decent shift down the wide areas. Jetro Willems will lineup on the other side as the left-back as he tries to be a good outlet for the Magpies going forward.
Midfield
The dynamic duo of Sean Longstaff and Isaac Hayden will operate as the anchormen at the centre of the park. Both of them need to work their socks off if they are to stand any chance of stopping the Liverpool midfield from dominating possession in midfield. Christian Atsu will get the nod to feature on the left flank. Miguel Almiron might get a chance to shine as a right-winger as he would look to exploit the space left by Andrew Robertson’s attacking runs down the wide areas.
Matt Ritchie is still sidelined with an injury. However, both Jonjoe Shelvey and Ki Sung-yueng should be fit enough to start on Bruce’s bench and might come on to make an impact during the contest if needed.
Attack
Joelinton will lead the line for the Tyneside giants up top. The Brazilian striker scored a goal against Tottenham Hotspur last month which was enough for his side to secure a narrow 1-0 win at North London last month. He will have to put in a similar goal-scoring display if Newcastle are to stand any chance of claiming a result against the Reds at Anfield this weekend.
Yoshinori Muto might get a chance to come off the Magpies bench and influence the game if Bruce calls upon his services.
