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Newcastle United vs Liverpool news: Magpies will be tough but take Reds to march on

Jurgen Klopp’s men can maintain their push for an incredible quadruple by claiming a battling win at St James’ Park in Saturday’s early kick-off.

Are there two happier sets of fans right now than supporters of Liverpool and Newcastle?

Liverpool took another step towards the quadruple by securing a 2-0 first-leg lead over Villarreal in their Champions League semi-final on Wednesday.

And a day later, Jurgen Klopp gave Reds supporters another boost by signing a new contract that will keep him at Anfield until 2026.

Newcastle, meanwhile, go from strength to strength and another win last weekend took them up to the dizzy heights of ninth place in the table. Not bad for a side which many said were doomed earlier in the campaign.

When: Saturday, April 30, 12:30 BST

Where: St James' Park

How to watch: BT Sport 1

Follow this game via our score centre

Who is the ref for Newcastle v Liverpool

Andre Marriner is the man in the middle at St James' Park.

The West Midlands official took charge of Liverpool's recent 2-0 Premier League win at Arsenal, booking just one player in the match (Roberto Firmino).

It was a different story the last time he visited St James' Park. Marriner booked six players and sent off Jonjo Shelvey in a 3-2 defeat by Spurs.

Season stats 2021/22: All matches (24), yellows (76), reds (3), penalties (6)

Recent form

The red machine keeps rolling on and the 2-0 victory over Villarreal made it nine wins in the last 11 in all competitions for Klopp's men.
Liverpool's latest three outings (all wins with clean sheets) were at home so this is their first start away from Anfield since the two games against Manchester City.
They were the 3-2 FA Cup semi-final win at Wembley and the 2-2 draw at the Etihad.
Overall, Liverpool have scored at least two goals in their last eight matches.
Newcastle's surge up the table has been fuelled by excellent home form which means the Merseysiders need to be wary.
Since the turn of the year, only Liverpool themselves have a better home record than Newcastle.
The Magpies have won each of their last six Premier League games at St James' Park, the last five all by one-goal margins.
Add in a 3-0 success at Norwich last week and Eddie Howe's side have won four on the spin in the top flight, their best run of the season.

Liverpool and Newcastle players in form

Where to start with Liverpool...

Sadio Mane poked home their second against Villarreal and that gave the Senegal frontman six goals in his last seven games.
Sadio Mane Liverpool
Thiago Alcantara and Fabinho have been excelling in midfield while Luis Diaz has given the Reds an extra dimension up front.

Andy Robertson scored the opener against Everton and has arguably been in better form than Trent Alexander-Arnold in recent matches although both are operating at an elite level and no-one can come close to Trent's passing abilities.

For Newcastle, January signing Bruno Guimaraes has hit the ground running.
The Brazilian midfielder scored both goals in the 2-1 home win over Leicester and added another at Norwich so has three in three.
Joelinton netted a brace at Norwich while another recent capture, Dan Burn, has helped the hosts keep three clean sheets in their last four matches.

Previous meetings

Liverpool 3-1 Newcastle (December 16, 2021)

Newcastle were joint-bottom with Norwich heading to Anfield but took a shock lead when Shelvey netted against his former club after just seven minutes.
However, the Reds turned the game around with two goals in quickfire succession via Diogo Jota (21) and Mo Salah (25), the latter netting his 22nd of the season.

Liverpool couldn't create daylight but finally put the game to bed when Alexander-Arnold rifled home three minutes from time.

Liverpool 1-1 Newcastle (April 24, 2021)

Liverpool's hopes of a Champions League spot were dented by a 95th-minute equaliser from Joe Willock in an empty Anfield.

Salah's excellent strike after just three minutes put the Reds in front and they were the dominant side early on.
But Newcastle came back into the game and after a Callum Wilson 'goal' was ruled out for handball, the Magpies grabbed a deserved equaliser when Willock's low strike was deflected past Alisson.

Newcastle 0-0 Liverpool (December 30, 2020)

This goalless draw was an obvious sign that the Reds weren't playing to the same levels as their 2019/20 title-winning team and they failed to take several good opportunities to score.
That said, the shot count was only 11-8 in Liverpool's favour so it wasn't exactly all one-way traffic.
One stat to emerge from this one: it was the first 0-0 draw between the pair since 1974.

Past 10 meetings

Newcastle wins: 0
Draws: 4
Liverpool wins: 6
Newcastle scored: 9
Liverpool scored: 22

Manager's thoughts

Ahead of Saturday's clash, Eddie Howe suggested that his side will have to be at the top of their game if they are to worry Liverpool.
"We know that nothing but our best tomorrow will be good enough.
"We have to be perfect defensively but we still have to give them a threat the other way. I think we have the players to do that but we need them at their very best levels."
As for Jurgen Klopp, Liverpool's boss cracked a joke about his former analyst that now works under Eddie Howe at St James' Park.
"They are on an incredible run. Eddie has played a massive part. They signed one of our analysts (Mark Leyland) which for sure a big part. Mark, if you see this....we play completely different now!"

Predicted Newcastle v Liverpool teams

Klopp will no doubt rotate again as this game falls between the two Champions League semi-finals.

That could mean starts for Joe Gomez, Joel Matip, Naby Keita and Jota, who were all on the bench against Villarreal on Wednesday night.

Whether he can bring in Curtis Jones and Kostas Tsimikas remains to be seen after both were absent in midweek due to illness.

Robert Firmino still has a foot problem so remains a doubt.

Possible Liverpool starting line-up: Alisson, Gomez, Robertson, Van Dijk, Matip, Henderson, Fabinho, Keita, Jota, Mane, Salah.

Howe has options too and Miguel Almiron and Fabian Schar could return after missing out against Norwich.
Joelinton should recover from a knock after coming off in that match while Shelvey is another possible starter in midfield.

Possible Newcastle starting line-up: Dubravka, Krafth, Schar, Burn, Targett, Joelinton, Guimaraes, Shelvey, Almiron, Saint-Maximin, Wood.

Newcastle v Liverpool prediction

Newcastle should certainly not be underestimated after six straight home wins but those victories came against Crystal Palace, Leicester, Wolves, Brighton, Aston Villa and Everton.
None of those teams are in the top seven.
Klopp isn't happy about the 12.30pm kick-off and this should be a genuine test but Liverpool really are at the peak of their powers right now.
Take the visitors to keep the pressure on Manchester City and go back to the top of the table again - for a few hours at least - by battling to a 2-1 win.

READ MORE: Jurgen Klopp signs contract extension until 2026

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