Newcastle United host Liverpool on Saturday in search of what would be a big win.

While it’s important to stress the need for perspective this season, Eddie Howe’s team has run into some problems lately. Their last six games have seen just one win, allowing fifth-placed Tottenham to close the gap in the top four to just two points.

Indeed, a win for Jurgen Klopp’s side would see them fall just six points behind Newcastle while also boasting a game in hand. While Liverpool have been wildly inconsistent this season, the sheer amount of quality they have in their ranks makes that a daunting prospect. Newcastle, the only team to beat Howe’s men in the Premier League this season, must prevent Liverpool from claiming the vital three points.

Here’s everything you need to know about the game.

Date, start time and place

Newcastle vs Liverpool is scheduled for kick-off at 17:30 GMT on Saturday 18 February 2023.

It is home to Newcastle’s St James’ Park.

Where to watch Newcastle vs Liverpool?

TV channel: The match will be broadcast on Sky Sports Main Event, Sky Sports Premier League and Sky Sports Ultra HDR. Live Stream: The Sky Go app allows subscribers to access a live stream via mobile, laptop, game console, tablet, etc.

Newcastle vs Liverpool Team News

Callum Wilson, Allan Saint-Maximin and Miguel Almiron are all set to compete for the role, according to the Telegraph. The former missed the tie at Bournemouth with a minor hamstring issue while the latter two were both knocked out.

However, the same report suggests that Joe Willock will likely miss the game with a hamstring problem and will now face a race against time to reach the Carabao Cup final later this month. Elsewhere, Bruno Guimaraes is suspended and the lack of options could potentially force Howe to tinker with the system. In general, Howe has favored a 4-3-3 system, but with only two fit licensed central midfielders in Joelinton and Sean Longstaff, a 4-2-3-1 could be fielded, with all Saint-Maximin, Almiron and Anthony Gordon Behind. Wilson or Alexander Isak.

For Liverpool, Diogo Jota and Roberto Firmino recovered from recent injury woes in their win against Everton on Monday, while Virgil van Dijk was fit enough for the bench.

Both managers will provide updates during Friday’s pre-game press conferences.

Newcastle-Liverpool prediction

Newcastle were barely at their best at Bournemouth last week, but they’ve been so strong this season that it’s hard to look past them and at least get anything out of the game.

Draw 1-1. Head-to-head history and results (h2h).

Newcastle win: 50

Draws: 44

Liverpool win: 90

Also…

Darwin Nunez and Mohamed salah just set a stunning record when Liverpool sent a warning

Darwin Nunez and Mohamed Salah have already formed a powerful partnership for Liverpool

The opening goal in Liverpool’s 2-0 win against Everton was a classic Reds counter-attack. The move set a new Premier League record for the fastest goal scored from a woodwork into the end of the pitch.

While Mohamed Salah was no doubt grateful for the bizarre positioning of Blues goalkeeper Jordan Pickford, the Egyptian knew who he really owed his 100th league goal at Anfield. As his teammates swamped him for the Kop, Salah looked to break free to deliver one of his signature assist points to Darwin Nunez.

He was the one who had carried the ball for half court as he dodged challenges to bring it perfectly to Salah. He has remained a campaign theme and one that can certainly help Liverpool through the rest of the 2022/23 season.

Nunez now has four assists for the Reds, equaling the tally he recorded in his last season at Benfica. They’ve all scored goals for Salah, but considering he’s the Uruguayan’s most frequent teammate at Liverpool (along with Alisson Becker), he’s not surprising. Thanks to the No11’s remarkable fitness record, Nunez played just 145 minutes for the Reds without Salah also being on the pitch.

‘He’s not for me’ – Cody Gakpo explains why he avoided speaking to Jurgen Klopp after criticizing Liverpool

The goals they scored also mostly came in the big games. Nunez assisted Salah against Fulham (in his Premier League debut), Tottenham Hotspur, Manchester City (in the Carabao Cup) and Everton. With two early goals and two draws, they were all major successes.

Thanks in part to Nunez’s erratic form in front of goal, there were no assists in the opposite direction. However, OptaJoe recently revealed that the duo have been the best chance-making combination in the Premier League this season.

While the assists only flowed one way, it was a fairly close partnership overall, with Salah setting up 12 chances for Nunez and eight the other way. For comparison: the combination of Kevin De Bruyne and Erling Haaland is creatively weighted at 17:3 for the Belgian. The Reds pair were also comfortably Liverpool’s best partner at 13 to generate clear chances in all competitions in 2022/23; Trent Alexander-Arnold and Nunez come second with seven, and unsurprisingly all but one have played at right-back to striker.

With the pair’s pairing still relatively in its infancy, it wouldn’t be surprising to see their potency cool off with a larger sample size. Likewise, their relationship is expected to improve over time and it’s by no means as if they’ve played in the best version of Liverpool.

As noted by OptaJoe, Nunez and Salah have created a chance every 52 minutes in the league this season. The latter had only one partnership with the Reds producing more shots, and that was with Daniel Sturridge (49 minutes per chance). However, such was the misery of the England international’s injuries that Salah shared the field with Nunez for some time.

Also…

Cody Gakpo sends Premier League warning after heeding Virgil van Dijk’s message

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