Liverpool handed double boost because of Premier League rule ahead of Newcastle United clash
Darwin Nunez and Wataru Endo are both in line to start for Liverpool.
Darwin Nunez and Wataru Endo will no longer be walking a disciplinary tightrope when Liverpool face Newcastle United at Anfield on New Year’s Day.
The Reds duo were sailing close to a one-match suspension during the 2-0 win over Burnley on Boxing Day. Nunez and Endo have both been booked four times so far this campaign. Premier League rules state that any player who received five yellow cards in their side’s opening 19 matches must serve a ban.
However, the duo avoided a caution at Turf Moor – meaning if they are booked against Newcastle at Anfield then they’ll not have to sit out a match. The threshold rises to 10 bookings in 32 matches, which means Nunez and Endo can rest easy for now.
The visit of Newcastle will be Endo’s final game before he heads off to the Asian Cup as he aims to captain Japan to glory. The midfielder, signed from Stuttgart in the summer transfer window, has started to blossom at Anfield in recent weeks in the injury absence of Alexis Mac Allister. Klopp raved about Endo’s performance after the Burnley triumph. “My god what a game he played,” said Klopp. “He was another contender for man of the match – looking at that game without him would have been really strange. “I love him. What a boy, and what a player.”
Nunez, meanwhile, ended a 12-match goal drought when opening the scoring against Burnley. The striker was also Liverpool’s hero in the 2-1 win over Newcastle United at St James’ Park in August. With the Reds down to 10 men after Virgil van Dijk was sent off, Nunez fired a double to earn a dramatic victory.
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Pep Guardiola goes early with title race mind games – insists “Liverpool are better”
Pep Guardiola appears to have already resorted to mind games at the halfway point of the Premier League, insisting that Liverpool are “better” than his Man City side.
The Citizens moved above Arsenal into third in the Premier League table with a 2-0 win over Sheffield United on Saturday, keeping them firmly in the title picture despite a lacklustre start to the campaign.
Last season’s treble winners remain the bookies’ favourites to lift the title for a fourth consecutive season, but it is the Reds who find themselves at the top of the tree as things stand.
It looks as though the Spaniard might be struggling to come to terms with that, describing Liverpool as “better” than Man City despite their recent period of dominance in English football.
“We’re not top of the league, Liverpool are better,” Guardiola said to BBC after Man City eased to victory at Bramall Lane.
“We’ve had injuries and some problems, we won the titles, important ones, our level is really good I would say and we are there. Now rest, we all need it. January is less intense than November and December so we prepare for what’s next.”
The Man City boss is no stranger to dropping tactical lines such as this to the media in the midst of a title race, having dubbed the Reds the “best team in Europe” ahead of a top-of-the-table clash back in December 2018.
He also emphasised the “pressure” involved in sprinting for the finishing post later that season, when Liverpool cruelly came up just short despite posting a remarkable 97 points.
Jurgen Klopp is unlikely to be perturbed by such comments, with his team ticking along nicely having lost in the league just once – in controversial circumstances – since a trip to the Etihad back in April.
The quest for a 20th league title will continue on New Year’s Day at home to Newcastle, when the Reds will be looking to chalk up their sixth consecutive victory in the fixture.
It appears the astronomic point totals usually required to prevail in title races between the two clubs might not be necessary this season, with Liverpool currently top of the league despite being projected to end 2023/24 on 84 points.