MONDAY 25th AUGUST 20:00 BST

If St James Park wasn’t a tough place to go anyway this one takes on even more of an edge with the Alexander Isak stand off while he pushes for a move to Anfield.. 

We know what the Geordies are going through only too well after the Suarez & Coutinho goings on as well as the recent Trent AA Real Madrid saga.. Yet if a player wants to leave personally I’d let them go. It’s a short career and they have to make choices to suit their needs. We do it every day at work..

Getting back to the football side of things this game be it here or at our place is always a classic in recent years. You don’t want to tempt fate and say there will be plenty of goals and get a bore draw but I’ll go all in.. There will be plenty of goals..

We have strengthened nicely in attacking areas as have Newcastle. If they had moved Isak on sooner then they could have nailed down their strike force and have it bedded in. But Elanga is a real threat and Gordon up top will be a handful.

Ekitike seems to know where the goal is for us and Wirtz is still finding his feet but Mo does like playing here..

QUICK STAT CHECK

Liverpool won last time out against Bournemouth. While Newcastle drew at Villa not that first games of the season are any reflection on stats.. Apart from the League Cup win Newcastle haven’t beaten us since 2015. Drawing 5 of them with The Reds victorious in 12.

LIVERPOOL LINE UP

Ali, Szoboslai, Virg, Konate, Kerkez, Macca, Gravs, Wirtz, Gakpo, Ekitike, Mo 

Macca was not seen in a recent squad photo so keep an eye on this one..

LIVERPOOL TEAM NEWS

Frimpong as we know has been ruled out with a hammy and won’t feature for a few weeks. Talk is Curtis Jones might take his place but surely Szoboszlai would be better as a makeshift right back for this one.

Bradley & Joey G are being eased back into the squad after injury.. Other than being short of 3 more signings (Guehi, Rodrygo & Isak Anyone!!) we are at full strength..

NEWCASTLE LINE UP

Pope, Trippier, Schar, Burn, Livramento, Joelinton, Tonali, Guimaraes, Barnes, Gordon, Elanga 

THE GAME

The atmosphere is going to be electric for this one and those first 20 minutes are vital. We are going to have to bed in suck it up and put in a proper shift to keep the game level and more importantly injury free. As there will be tackles going in everywhere..

Midfield is where most games are won and lost and both sides are strong in that department with plenty of experience. We may have a slight edge there though being a little younger, quicker and stronger..

So as the game settles down all being well with the scores level we can look to keep the ball and target their weaknesses. Being their defence.. Trippier is not getting any younger. Gakpo needs to attack him and not give him an inch backed up by Kerkez. Mo the same against Livramento who is good but out of position..

Again they are a threat with pace going forwards so if we defend slightly deeper that should sort that.. But so are we.. Ekitike has simply been unreal. His movement and decision making is like Bobby on Acid. Cody exploded into life against Bournemouth & Mo is Mo..

One big thing is we will have to be solid at set pieces both sides of the pitch. They are good at them. So Arne please put players on the posts it can save a load of misery. As for us let’s start taking these chances. We get corner after corner and are lucky to win a header. Virg & Ibou could and should be very dangerous week in week out..

Wirtz when he finds some space could well come into his own here as he can unlock any defence. As Slot said we have added weapons and they are gonna come in handy in these tough away games. Mo had a great game here last season and there has been no better weapon for us for a while. You’d expect some kind of return from him in this one..

OurLFC DANGERMAN   Ali first half.. Mo the second

PREDICTION.. 3-1 TO THEM MIGHTY REDS