Liverpool will welcome Newcastle United at Anfield on Saturday afternoon as they try to secure a victory at home and boost their top-four hopes in the Premier League. The Reds were held to a frustrating 1-1 draw by Leeds United at Elland Road earlier this week, so they will be desperate to collect all three points versus the Magpies this weekend.
Jurgen Klopp will set his team up in a 4-3-3 formation once again but could make a couple of tweaks to his first team for this game. However, the German head coach will be sweating on the fitness of Nathaniel Phillips, who is a major doubt for this home encounter because of a hamstring strain.
4-3-3 Liverpool Predicted Lineup To Face Newcastle United
Defence
Alisson Becker will operate in between the sticks for the Merseyside giants after shipping in one goal against the Whites in his last league outing. Nathaniel Phillips will probably get the nod to start if he can make himself available for this game. The English defender will function alongside Ozan Kabak at the heart of the Liverpool backline as they look to keep Newcastle’s Callum Wilson quiet throughout the 90 minutes.
Trent Alexander-Arnold will hope to impress at right-back while Andrew Robertson fills in on the other flank as the left-back. Both of them will get the license to express themselves in the Newcastle half so that they can create some meaningful openings for their teammates up top.
Ben Davies and Rhys Williams will offer cover for the centre-back positions on Klopp’s bench.
Midfield
James Milner is enjoying a decent run of form at the moment, so he could retain his spot along with Fabinho and Thiago Alcantara in midfield. All three of them will have to find a way to dominate the ball at the centre of the park and engineer some decent chances in the final third.
Naby Keita and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain will make up the numbers on the bench as they await their chance to shine as the impact substitutes in the second half if required.
Attack
Mohamed Salah is expected to return and could feature as the right-sided winger while Sadio Mane looks to put his pace to good use as he operates down the left flank. The Senegalese winger scored Liverpool’s only goal versus Leeds United, which should boost his confidence ahead of this game.
Roberto Firmino will probably get the responsibility to lead the line for the Reds down the middle. The Brazilian striker needs to figure out a way to be more clinical in the attacking third if the Merseysiders are to come out on top this weekend.
Diogo Jota will be available for selection on the bench and might come on to influence the game in the latter stages if the Reds are in need of a goal by then.
