Newcastle United will look to bounce back from their disappointing 1-0 defeat to fellow newly-promoted side Brighton and Hove Albion at the Amex Stadium last weekend when they host Liverpool at St James’ Park on Sunday.
The match will see Magpies manager Rafa Benitez come up against his former side, who he led to Champions League glory in 2005.
The Toon Army’s latest defeat was especially frustrating as the side came into the clash with the Seagulls with three straight Premier League wins under their belt, but they were unable to find the net on the south coast with Tomer Hemed’s finish proving to be the difference between the two clubs.
Having already been beaten on Tyneside by Tottenham Hotspur on the opening day, Benitez may well be considering making some changes to his side for the visit of the Reds, who have all of Roberto Firmino, Philippe Coutinho, Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah available after injury.
Here are three changes the Spaniard should make to his starting XI against Liverpool…
Javier Manquillo for Chancel Mbemba
While Mbemba has performed admirably at left-back in four of Newcastle’s six Premier League matches this season, it would perhaps be a bit of a risk to play the centre-back there against Liverpool considering he could come up against the likes of Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah.
With DeAndre Yedlin likely to keep his place at right-back from the side that lost at Brighton because of his pace, Manquillo should come back into the team against his former club having dropped to the substitutes’ bench against Stoke City and the Seagulls.
Jonjo Shelvey for Isaac Hayden
While he made an impressive start to the Premier League season Hayden has faded a little in recent weeks, and he even took to his official Twitter account to criticise his own performance in the win against Swansea City.
Shelvey started the campaign alongside the former Arsenal man in the middle of the park but his red card on the opening day against Tottenham saw him miss two top flight matches and he has come on as a substitute in the Magpies’ previous two games.
Benitez may decide this is the match where he needs a little more bite in midfield, as well as player that is capable of setting the likes of Dwight Gayle and Christian Atsu away on the counter-attack with his passing.
Dwight Gayle for Joselu
While Joselu has made an impressive start to his Newcastle career following his move from Stoke City in August, his finishing isn’t quite matching up to his all-round centre-forward play right now.
The 27-year-old missed a whole host of clear-cut chances against his former team before also missing some good opportunities in the defeat to Brighton, and Benitez should certainly consider taking him out of the firing line and putting Gayle in against Liverpool.
The Reds have already shown this season that they are there to be got at defensively and Gayle may have more luck against a shaky backline than Joselu would right now.
Do you agree, Newcastle fans? Let us know below.
