Newcastle United will kick off the year of 2024 in very testing circumstances.
A trip to Anfield to play a Liverpool team chasing the Premier League title is never an easy task. Couple that with the kind of away form that has left Eddie Howe scratching his head all season and it makes for a tough ask for Newcastle.
Indeed, Howe’s side have only won once on the road in the League all season, with that sole victory coming against a Sheffield United side in freefall at the time way back in September.
Beaten in pretty miserable fashion on Boxing Day by Nottingham Forest at home to and the mood heading to Liverpool hardly looks buzzing.
While this team have earned the right to turn things around, it’s clear that they are struggling to scale the heights of last season.
Liverpool vs Newcastle: Jurgen Klopp shares what’s going wrong for Eddie Howe
Speaking on Friday ahead of Monday’s game, Klopp talked of Newcastle’s injury crisis.
Though the likes of Alan Shearer have suggested fatigue can not be the only reason for Newcastle’s malaise, Klopp gave an alternate view, suggesting having to play the same players so often has not helped matters.
“Newcastle are unlucky with the amount of injuries but they also play international football, the system has to get used to that,” he said (via Sky Sports).
“Pretty much only recovery and then go again for a big, big game.
“They still do really well. The games that I saw they have a really good idea. But at one point Eddie had to play too often the same line-up. That’s clear. Give credit to the players the effort they put in. The guys who play all the time get tired, the guys who come back have no rhythm. We have had that situation plenty of times.
“We played five games in 13 days. It’s insane. Now it’s about using the extra recovery time.
Liverpool vs Newcastle: Big performance needed
While Howe isn’t thought to be under any pressure from above right now, PIF will reportedly take into account the manner of his team’s performances when making any decision as to his future.
Teams can lose at Anfield. This season, all but two teams to have visited have.
To expect to go there and get three points given their record there would perhaps be demanding too much.
Still, the performance needs to improve. Newcastle’s standards have slipped as Kieran Trippier has admitted and getting thrashed at Liverpool would hardly improve things.
At this stage and given where the game is, the performance feels more important than the result.
