Liverpool predicted lineup vs Newcastle

Liverpool welcome Newcastle United to Anfield in the Premier League on Wednesday evening.

The Reds recorded a Premier League record-equalling 9-0 victory against Bournemouth last weekend. While it earned Liverpool their first win of the season, a thumping of that magnitude doesn’t always breed success; only two of the last nine teams to score nine-plus goals have won their following top-flight match (D4 L3).

Here’s the XI Jurgen Klopp may deploy to keep that winning feeling alive.

GK: Alisson – Had Muriel – Alisson’s brother – plumped for a different hobby, football may have been robbed of one of the world’s best goalkeepers who was inspired to don a pair of gloves by his elder sibling.

RB: Trent Alexander-Arnold – Liverpool’s buccaneering playmaker has gone nine Premier League appearances without an assist, his longest drought since March 2021.

CB: Joe Gomez – The tee-total centre-back celebrated Liverpool’s famous Champions League victory against Barcelona in 2019 with a game of Monopoly which dragged into the early hours. Wild.

CB: Virgil van Dijk – In the Premier League, Van Dijk has a better conversion rate with his head (13%) than his (supposedly) stronger right foot (2%).

LB: Andy Robertson – Brian ‘Pop’ Robertson, Andy’s father, had to wear a metal back brace when he had a kickabout after sustaining a spinal injury in his youth. His neighbour Jim Duffy told the BBC: “Andy has got his determination, that never-give-up attitude, from his dad.”

CM: Harvey Elliott – Buoyed by the first top-flight goal of his career last weekend, the 19-year-old could find the net in consecutive games for the first time since December 2020 during his impressive loan spell with Blackburn Rovers.

CM: Fabinho – The languid Brazilian scored his first Premier League goal in a 4-0 victory at home to Newcastle on Boxing Day 2018.

CM: Jordan Henderson – Liverpool’s skipper is one of a league-high seven players over the age of 30 to have appeared for the club this season.

RW: Mohamed Salah – Fantasy Football fans disillusioned by his lack of involvement in last weekend’s rout – more than 450,000 users have transferred the Egyptian out in protest – may want to hold off any hasty sales given Salah’s record of scoring in his last five matches against Newcastle at Anfield.

ST: Roberto Firmino – Liverpool’s number nine became just the 19th different player in Liverpool’s 130-year history to rack up 100 goals for the club against Bournemouth last weekend.

LW: Luis Diaz – With six goals in his opening ten Premier League matches at Anfield, only Fernando Torres can better Diaz’s scoring start to life in Liverpool (per BBC).

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