Newcastle United must fight firepower with firepower at Anfield | OneFootball

The odds will be stacked against United on Wednesday. We have not won at Anfield since November 1995, when a piece of individual brilliance by Steve Watson in the League Cup put us into the fifth round.

The headline in The Times read: “Eliminatory, dear Watson”. Almost as good as the only goal that night…

For our most recent league victory at what is probably the most intimidating ground in England, you have to go back another two seasons, to April 1994. Robert Lee and Andy Cole did the business to complete a double over the Reds in our first Premier League season.

Newcastle United had already beaten Liverpool at St James’ Park thanks to a Cole hat-trick and some questionable goalkeeping by Bruce Grobbelaar. The keeper’s contribution was later examined at the High Court in a libel case that ended with him pocketing £85,000 in damages from the publishers of The Sun. Safe hands indeed.

Enough ancient history. Home and away, we have lost 11 of the 16 most recent league meetings and won none of them. The 3-3 draw in December ended a run of six consecutive defeats.

Along the way there have been some hard-luck tales, none more so than the gut-wrenching 2-1 defeat at Anfield in August 2022. Alexander Isak scored on his debut to put us ahead. He netted again, silencing the normally raucous Scousers until they were rescued by a dubious offside call.

We all knew what was coming. Fabinho levelled on 61 minutes and Fabio Carvalho scored with almost the final kick, so deep into stoppage time that the Diddy Men were putting up their Christmas decorations around Knotty Ash. At least we had the last laugh in that campaign, finishing four points and a place above Liverpool to qualify for the Champions League at their expense.

Prediction can be a fool’s game, especially if precedent is disregarded. Time for a fool to step forward.

If football were horseracing, a form line would suggest we are capable of stalling Liverpool’s seemingly unstoppable march to the Premier League title. They are undefeated away from Anfield and at home have lost only once all season, against Nottingham Forest on September 14.

We have beaten Forest home and away.

Perhaps this is extreme straw-clutching amid a blizzard of negative statistics but there are some reasons for optimism. Anyone who has watched their three most recent matches, against Wolves, Villa and Man City, will have noticed a weakness or two.

The 2-1 home win against Wolves was a game the visitors dominated after half-time. Alisson was man of the match, a clear indication Liverpool can be got at if opponents are prepared to be mentally and physically strong.

Trent Alexander-Arnold is a fine footballer but nobody will convince me he is a top defender. The thought of Anthony Gordon running at him is an enticing one. Against Man City yesterday, Jeremy Doku had him on toast. What would have happened if Erling Haaland had been on the pitch?

Liverpool have failed to keep a clean sheet at home since December 1. Not all of those goals are down to TAA, of course. Andy Robertson has been a top full-back for years but I would politely suggest he has lost a bit of pace this season. Once that goes, a defender is vulnerable.

For all the criticism aimed at him, Jacob Murphy is not short of speed. He needs to go full throttle on Wednesday night and see what transpires.

Ibrahima Konate is also less than assured. While Virgil van Dijk is capable of saving his teammate, Konate is prone to clumsiness. He was fortunate to survive until half-time against Wolves, at which point his manager sensibly replaced him before the Frenchman could collect a second yellow card.

The renewal of hostilities between Van Dijk and Isak is fascinating. Last season at St James’ Park, Van Dijk saw red for a reckless tackle on Isak.

This season, ice-cool Alex bamboozled the Premier League’s best centre-half before powering home the opening goal.

Van Dijk has shown tremendous fortitude to return from the career-threatening injury caused by Jordan Pickford’s assault in 2020. The Liverpool captain is a great operator in both penalty areas. His aerial threat is a constant danger at set-pieces, one United must beware. If only Sven Botman were available.

Liverpool’s main danger is, of course, Mo Salah. With 25 strikes and 16 assists, he has scored or made 41 of their 64 league goals. Keep him quiet and anything is possible.

While Salah is lethal, his colleagues can be profligate. None more so than Darwin Nunez, who with add-on clauses could cost £85m. Liverpool signed him in June 2022, a few weeks before we signed Isak. The late brace the Uruguayan bagged at St James’ Park last season could turn out to be the highlight of his career in England if transfer rumours are confirmed. Diogo Jota seems to be misfiring, Luis Diaz too. The return from injury of Cody Gakpo for the last 15 minutes against Man City was unwelcome news to United but Tino Livremento and Lewis Hall are capable of subduing most wide attackers.

Especially in the first half against Forest, Lewis Miley earned the right to retain his starting berth. So did Joe Willock. Should we go with three in midfield, the manager has some difficult decisions, especially if Sandro Tonali is fit.

Liverpool’s fluid midfield is likely to include at least three of Ryan Gravenberch, Alexis Mac Allister, Dominic Szoboszlai and Curtis Jones. The outcome will probably be decided in that engine room.

What we must do on Wednesday is fight firepower with firepower. We gave Liverpool plenty of problems before losing 4-2 in this fixture last season. Factor in the likelihood of them being awarded at least one dodgy penalty and the hill becomes a mountain.

What we must not do is repeat the feeble display we unveiled at the other end of the East Lancs Road earlier this month. Thirty seasons have been and almost gone since we left Anfield with three points. There’s no time like the present to start redressing the balance.