MatchLiverpool v Newcastle United: Team news
Alexis Mac Allister and Sandro Tonali are set to be available for Liverpool versus Newcastle United at Anfield.
Reds head coach Arne Slot reported on Tuesday morning that Mac Allister, who sustained bruising to his face as Manchester City were beaten 2-0 last weekend, is expected to be fit for Wednesday night’s 8.15pm GMT kick-off.
“Yes, I think he will [be available]. He will train with us today,” Slot said.
Mac Allister’s midfield counterpart Tonali, meanwhile, was only able to feature as a second-half substitute in Newcastle’s 4-3 win over Nottingham Forest last Sunday due to a hamstring issue.
However, Eddie Howe told the media on Tuesday: “Sandro came through fine. I anticipate he will be fully fit for Wednesday.”
Newcastle could be further boosted by the returns of Sven Botman and Joelinton. Centre-back Botman has missed their last three matches, while midfielder Joelinton has not featured in their last four.
Howe added: “Sven is improving and improving quickly. We will see if he makes the game or not. He will be close. Joe is really improving, doing really well, pushing again. He is close.”
Jamaal Lascelles is a long-term absentee.
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Watch on YouTubeFor Liverpool, the only players definitively ruled out are Conor Bradley, Joe Gomez and Tyler Morton.
Bradley sustained an injury at Villa Park last week, Gomez recently underwent surgery on his hamstring, and Morton is dealing with a shoulder issue.
Providing an update on Bradley, Slot stated: “He is out for a few weeks. I cannot tell exactly how many but it is clear that he went off with a muscle injury and that it is going to take a while before he is back.”
This fixture is the fifth in a run of five in the space of just 15 days for the Premier League leaders and Slot was asked if such a busy spell is ‘difficult’ for his players.
The Dutchman’s reply indicated he is not considering potential fatigue as a reason to rotate his squad on Wednesday.
Slot said: “I am not so sure if it is difficult because these players are trained for this and are used to this, so if they go to a World Cup or the Euros they have to play those amount of games in a short spell of time as well.
“So, they are able to do so but I sometimes feel like if we have a gap in between and the game starts it’s, ‘Oh, they are not as aggressive as they were.’
“So, they are in a certain rhythm and they have shown many times this season already that they are able to, but it was the reason why I changed my line-up against Plymouth [Argyle] so drastically because I don’t think you can do this for a whole season.
“So, you need to have, once in every four or five weeks, a ‘normal week’ and what I call a normal week is two games in a week instead of three games in a week.
“Of course, that hurt us in the FA Cup but it also means these players are now able to play five games in a row at the highest possible level.”
Newcastle’s most recent Premier League away game ended in a 4-0 loss at Etihad Stadium and, while previewing the trip to Anfield, Howe explained: “We need to play close to a perfect game.
“I think learning from the recent game against Manchester City would be a useful starting point for us, where we didn’t execute the aggressive game plan that we wanted. We didn’t attack enough.
“Anfield is a really great environment to play football, but not a great environment if you are not totally there. We need to make sure we turn up.
“We are going to need to start the game well. We have to be aggressive, have a threat in the game. We need every bit of our game to be functioning.”
Last match
Manchester City 0-2 Liverpool (February 23): Alisson, Alexander-Arnold, Van Dijk, Konate, Robertson, Gravenberch, Mac Allister, Jones, Szoboszlai, Salah, Diaz.
Newcastle 4-3 Nottingham Forest (February 23): Pope, Livramento, Schar, Burn, Hall, Miley, Guimaraes, Willock, Gordon, Murphy, Isak.