Newcastle make the trip to Anfield on Wednesday night to take on Liverpool, fresh from their manager-ending 9-0 thumping of Bournemouth. Kick-Off is 8pm Live on BT Sport.
While an argument can be made that it was “only Bournemouth”, there’s no doubting the fact that Liverpool will be buoyed by that win so Newcastle will have to box clever to get a result.
That will be easier said than done with the squad’s current injury problems and the government dragging its heels when it comes to granting a work permit to Alexander Isak. It’s looking like we may be without three key players. Callum Wilson is still out and Bruno Guimaraes and Allan Saint-Maximin may not recover from their knocks in time for the game.
The Isak delay was likely due to the bank holiday weekend so you’d expect that, with the deadline being 75 minutes before kick-off, the paperwork will all be sorted in time. If that’s the case I’d expect Isak to be thrown into the deep end and given a start alongside Wood and Miggy. Even if Maxi recovers, I’m not sure he will be risked for the full game.
What Are Your Anfield Predictions?
Liverpool Win
Draw
Newcastle Win
I find myself torn when looking at who should replace Bruno, too. Sean Longstaff, who recently played his 100th game for the club, is likely going to be Howe’s pick, but his lack of pace and poor passing makes him a liability. I’d definitely prefer to see Howe give Anderson a go, but is it maybe too big of a fixture to hand him his first start? I guess this is why Eddie gets paid the big bucks and I just hammer a keyboard for a living.
If we had a full complement of players to choose from I’d fancy us to get another point, but given the depleted squad, I think we might be staring down the barrel of our first defeat of the season.
Prediction: 1-2 Isak debut goal won’t be enough