Liverpool head to Newcastle in the hope of keeping up our winning run, whilst also maintaining the pressure on Manchester City.
Writing for BBC Sport, Mark Lawrenson predicted the outcome of the match: ‘Lawro’s prediction: 0-2. Villarreal did not really pose Liverpool too many problems in their Champions League semi-final on Wednesday, but I’d expect Newcastle to be much more of a threat going forward.
‘They won’t be gung-ho or anything like that, but the way they have kicked on in the past few weeks means they go into this game without being under any pressure whatsoever.
‘All of the Magpies’ January signings have done well, especially Bruno Guimaraes, who looks the real deal, and they are getting results.
‘Eddie Howe made a few changes to freshen up his team for their win over Norwich last weekend, including playing Joelinton through the middle, and they all seemed to work.
‘After winning four games in a row, Newcastle will be full of confidence but, if that means they are even slightly more open than usual this weekend, that will suit Jurgen Klopp’s side.
‘I’m sure Howe’s plan will still be to make sure they are difficult to beat, but I don’t think the home fans will settle for seeing them put 11 men behind the ball for 90 minutes and just play for a point.
‘The problem there is that Liverpool are at a different level to any of the sides Newcastle have just beaten – the Canaries, Crystal Palace, Leicester and Wolves.
‘Also, the way the Reds are playing makes me think they will get the result they need, no matter who is in their team. They are just in that zone’.
This forecasted win for the Reds would put them top of the Premier League, hoping that Pep Guardiola’s side slip-up later in the day at Leeds United.
The players can’t afford to be thinking about anything except Eddie Howe’s team though, perhaps with the news of the Magpies having five players missing giving them a slight boost.
Let’s hope we are in that ‘zone’ and can get ourselves a big three points, before looking ahead to the Champions League semi-final second leg.