By Jordan Carreno

Matchday 37 has Liverpool headed up North to take on Newcastle at St. James’ Park. Kick off is schedule for 2:45 PM EST on Saturday.

Newcastle v Liverpool — 05/04/2019 1945 GMT

It is back to league action where, as the events of midweek might have caused you to forget, we are still in the thick of a title race that is coming down to the wire. It is a bit of an odd one this week with it being a 2:45 kick off on the weekend, so take advantage and come on down and join us in cheering on the Reds. As always, all three LFC Tampa Bay locations will be open, serving, and showing the match. With all that being said, let’s get into the talking points.

Bounce Back

Wednesday night was a devastating punch to the gut. Even though Liverpool aren’t officially eliminated from the Champions League, it certainly felt like it after losing 3–0. It was an utterly disappointing moment in an otherwise incredible season. However, with the title race still on the line and little time to prepare for an away tip to Newcastle, this Liverpool squad have no choice but to bounce back.

This is one of those cliche moments that all eventually great teams arrive upon while writing their story. When adversity comes knocking down your door, it is the champions and the greats that respond with defiance. If we are to believe that what Jurgen Klopp and the club are working towards is bringing Liverpool back to their former glory, then, at some point, this team will have to do the cliche things that great sides do.

Saturday will present an opportunity for this Liverpool side to put another marker down as it strides towards greatness. The lopsided loss to Barcelona will have undoubtedly put a damper on the mood in and around the team. If they choose to sulk and pity themselves, this Newcastle team and St James’ Park have enough about them to take advantage and punish Liverpool.

There is no time to ponder what could have been or where it all went wrong on Wednesday, all the team can do is shift focus to Saturday and make sure they do everything to push this title race to the very end. Though, at this moment, the chance for silverware at the end of a record breaking season has become much slimmer, there is still a glimmer of hope. Liverpool must bounce back to ensure that hope lives on.

No Favors

Despite his closeness to Liverpool, Rafa won’t be doing us any favors

We’d all like to think that, having secured safety from relegation, that Rafa Benitez would do the noble thing and concede the three points to Liverpool. In an alternate universe, where Rafa isn’t the opposing manager on Saturday, Benitez would undoubtedly want Liverpool to show up to Newcastle and do the business. Unfortunately, as Rafa has pointed out himself, his only goal will be to show up and try to get something out of this game for his Newcastle side.

It has been a wild ride for Benitez and Newcastle this year. They’ve had two different spells in the relegation zone this season, with the most recent coming in January. In the press, Rafa has spent a lot of time sending shots at owner Mike Ashley for his refusal to back the club with sufficient transfer funds. Despite all the drama and setbacks, Rafa and his team have managed to turn things around and have risen from 18th to 13th on the back of their second half of the season form.

Since their last dip into the relegation zone, Newcastle have won 7-of-14 matches including winning 6-of-7 home matches in that time. Though their home record over the whole season isn’t incredible, Newcastle have been very good at home in this recent run of good form. With this being their last home game of the season, they’ll want to keep that good run at home going and give their supporters a proper send off.

It won’t be an easy task to go to St. James’ Park and get the points that this Liverpool side so desperately need. It would be nice for Rafa to instruct his team to rollover and play dead, but it isn’t going to happen. Benitez has done well to get this team out of the relegation zone and survive this season at Newcastle, he won’t want to tarnish it by doing the Reds any favors. Liverpool will have to be at the top of their game in order to get the result they want.

The Pressure Hot Potato

Liverpool must keep putting the pressure on City

Saturday is again the chance to toss the pressure hot potato back onto City’s plate. As has been the case for the last few weeks, Liverpool will have the opportunity to play before City and therefore take the lead at the top of the table.

It is all this Liverpool side can do in a pursuit of a league title. Win their last two matches and hope for a favor. Though City undoubtedly have the talent to deal with both Leicester City and Brighton, the task will be made slightly more difficult with the knowledge that Liverpool are not going to hand the title to them. If the Reds fail to win on Saturday, it will mean City can afford to have a lapse without suffering any consequences.

With Manchester City not playing until Monday night, a Liverpool victory will mean the Reds sit atop of the table for at least two days. There will be enough time and space for the Manchester City team to think about the consequences of failing to beat Leicester City. It might not be much, and it might not get to this seasoned City team, but it is better than nothing. Those days could be enough to sew the seeds of doubt within their dressing room and could be the tipping point for the pressure getting to City.

All Liverpool can do is keep winning and keep asking questions of this City team. Manchester City might have all the answers, but we won’t know that unless the Reds ask all the questions. Having to wait two days to reclaim the top spot might just be enough time to wobble Manchester City and hand the advantage back to Liverpool in this title race. Regardless, Liverpool must win on Saturday.

Prediction

We are back to the domestic table again where I have stormed ahead in the title race. I correctly predicted Liverpool to beat Huddersfield 5–0, so I get a massive 5 points. David gets 2 for correctly predicting the Liverpool win with a clean sheet. This means I now lead 53–49.

The one good thing about playing a Rafael Benitez team is that I feel I have a pretty good grasp on what to expect from the hosts. All those years of watching Rafa take Liverpool sides into games against big teams with an organized defense and an emphasis on counter attack have paid off. I suspect Rafa will have his Newcastle side do the same, sit back and be defensively organized while looking for opportunities to break.

For us, I think we go back to the 4–3–3 that Klopp so seems to love playing. With Bobby hopefully fit enough to start this game, it means no more diamonds with Gini as a false-false-9. I think we see Trent return at right back, Bobby come back in at the striker position, and a midfield of Hendo, Gini, and Fabinho. I also think there is an outside shout of Gomez coming in for Matip so that the Cameroonian is ready for Tuesday.

This is going to be a tough match. We are going to have to dig in and slug it out with a packed in and organized Rafa side. It won’t be easy and it might get tense, but I believe this Liverpool team has the talent and drive to get the job done. 2–1 and the Rodgers hype train goes full steam ahead.

David’s Prediction: To hell with their organization and home field advantage. I’m going to be the irrational one today and say I expect our lads to go out there with a fire in their eyes. They move the ball quick and break down Newcastle with ease. It looks like they’re still playing Barca, except of course they aren’t. Pure rage performance complete with a finishing clinic and the Reds send the Toon Army home early. 4–0, like it’s Boxing Day all over again.