This matchup produced six goals in the return fixture, and Arne Slot will need his best available players to beat the in-form Toon.
Here is the XI that I think Arne Slot will plump for.
Liverpool predicted line-up:
Goalkeeper: Alisson Becker
Defenders: Andy Robertson, Virgil van Dijk, Ibrahima Konaté, Trent Alexander-Arnold
Midfielders: Ryan Gravenberch, Curtis Jones, Dominik Szoboszlai
Forwards: Cody Gakpo, Luis Diaz, Mo Salah
Trent Alexander-Arnold
Alexander-Arnold must play in this game due to the injury Conor Bradley sustained against Aston Villa.
He will likely be partnered with Andy Robertson at left-back, as Slot has firmly chosen him as his first-choice over Kostas Tsimikas during this run.
Liverpool’s No. 66 had a mixed bag of performance against Manchester City on Sunday night, conceding 11 successful take-ons against winger Jeremy Doku.
Alexander-Arnold did play the sensational ball down the channel for Mo Salah, who squared the ball for Dominik Szoboszlai to score Liverpool’s second goal against City.
The right-back was a key part of Liverpool’s superb performance, playing key out balls amid a lot of defending.
Alexander-Arnold has had a difficult season at times, but he will be key as Liverpool reach the run-in.
Dominik Szoboszlai
The midfield is one of the most up-for-debate areas of the team for the Newcastle United game.
Dominik Szoboszlai is likely to start due to his intense running, against a Toon team who place a lot of emphasis on that part of the game.
In the prior game between the teams, Alexis Mac Allister had a tricky time up against Sandro Tonali and Joelinton.
Mac Allister is carrying a black eye after taking a hit against Manchester City.
Szoboszlai will likely find himself alongside Curtis Jones and Ryan Gravenberch who both had outstanding games against Manchester City.
I think Slot can hold off on rotating the Hungarian due to Liverpool’s lack of a fixture next weekend.
Cody Gakpo
Coming in for Mac Allister, as Arne Slot likely returns to a more typical line-up against Newcastle United.
I can see Gakpo playing on the left with Luis Diaz through the middle, and Mo Salah playing on the right.
Gakpo is back from injury and could play on the left using his height and great strides to get past Tino Livramento, Newcastle’s right-back.
I think having Diaz through the middle allows him and Szoboszlai to build on their great collaborative work with Mo Salah against City.
Gakpo was in good form before his injury, and I think he would be a better choice to start this game over Federico Chiesa or Darwin Nunez.