Newcastle United appear to have dropped an early team news hint ahead of their clash against Liverpool. Eddie Howe will lock horns with Arne Slot at Anfield on Wednesday night as the Magpies look to climb the Premier League table.
Last weekend, Newcastle made significant ground in the race for the top-four when they stormed past Nottingham Forest. Alexander Isak fired the Magpies to a 4-3 win over Nuno Espirito Santo’s side at St. James’ Park, netting twice in quick succession to grab three crucial points.
Meanwhile, Liverpool enjoyed a 2-0 victory against Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium. Nevertheless, Newcastle have posted a pre-match graphic preview of the heavyweight bout across their social media channels, with the caption: “A big clash on Merseyside [arm-flexed emoji].”
Isak and Anthony Gordon were front and centre of the Magpies’ matchday poster, suggesting that they’ll be involved in some capacity. Jacob Murphy also featured, hinting that he too could start against Liverpool.
The Merseyside outfit, who have established a nine-point lead at the top of the table, may have a skip in their step, but Howe’ is expected to welcome back some big names. Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, the Newcastle boss provided injury updates on Sandro Tonali, Sven Botman and Joelinton.
“He came through the game fine,” said Howe on Italy international Tonali, who featured off the bench against Nottingham Forest at the weekend. On Botman, he added: “Sven’s improving and he’s improving quickly, so we’ll see whether he makes it. It’ll be close.”
On Joelinton, Howe said: “Again with Joe, it is similar to Sven, he is really improving and doing really well and pushing. He is another player who could be quite close. Joe is always important from a number of perspectives especially in defending set-pieces.
“He has those key aspects that we have missed when he’s not there – his physicality and strength – there is an obvious presence missing in our midfield, Joey is a massive player for us.”
And finally, on Isak, who managed to score 50 goals in the Premier League quicker than Harry Kane, Sergio Aguero and Thierry Henry, Howe said: “I do think it highlights how well he’s done it when you look at the names that you mentioned there.
“And also you put that together with when he first came to the club – my memory was like just a lot of relegation – so it wasn’t as if he was joining a team that was right at the top of the league and free scoring in that moment.
“So we had to try and become that team. But I just think he’s come in with a great attitude to the club, he’s come in hungry to succeed, eager to help the team. He’s not been selfish in that period, he’s not thought of himself, he’s always played for the team and I’m delighted for him.”
With that being said, Howe will be hoping Isak can continue his rich vein of form and fire Newcastle to victory.