Newcastle v Liverpool Sat 1st Nov 12:45 KO - Pre-Match discussion

Hoping for another strong performance against Newcastle.

It will be interesting to see Brendan's team as I thought both Toure and Borini were great yesterday.

I would go with this side:

Mignolet

Manquillo
Skrtel
Lovren
Moreno

Gerrard (c)

Henderson
Coutinho

Sterling

Borini
Balotelli

Subs: Jones; Johnson, Toure; Can, Allen; Markovic; Lambert.

Can see us winning this 2-0 with Balotelli and Coutinho scoring the goals.

 

Bring back the diamond I say

Migs
Manquillo-Skrtel-Lovren-Moreno
Stevie
Lallana-Can
Sterling
Mario-Borini

Subs - Jones, Johnson, Toure, Allen, Henderson, Coutinho, Lambert

Good opening post. Thats the team id pick.

                                 Mignolet

Manquillo       Skrtel             Lovren          Moreno

                       Gerrard         Henderson

                                  Coutinho

                    Borini                         Sterling

                                   Balotelli

Its a 433 or a diamond with Hendo and Cou in the centre and Borini alongside Balotelli with sterling in behind.

Just get the 3 points please.

Just get the 3 points please.

Seconded.

Shame sakho is still out. He should come straight into the starting 11 when he's fit. Flano will also be an automatic on the right side when he gets fit. These two should help us tighten up at the back. We will still concede goals due to the way BR sets us up and has us play, but those two defend like pit bulls and will put it all on the line to keep a clean sheet.

I'm not sure who should play in midfield. Lucas had a good showing the other night, so he could be a possibility. Allen was awful against Hull and Hendo has been rather poor so far this term, so perhaps that will open the door for Can or Lallana. Coutinho should be nailed on to start along with Sterling, while Markovic needs to be benched for a few games and work on his link up play and finishing on the training ground.

A lot of people calling for two up front and I agree. Could possibly play Coutinho as a 2nd striker and have him play right off of Balotelli. Otherwise, stick with Fabio and Mario.

I'd probably field:

 

Migs
Manquillo-Skrtel-Lovren-Moreno
Gerrard-Can
Sterling------Coutinho
Balo-Borini

Have Henderson, Lallana, Markovic and Lambert available from the bench to help if needed.

Looks like they are on form at the minute

Looks like they are on form at the minute

Aye .. good win at spurs and taken care of citeh tonight. Will be a tough game saturday.

Mig
Manquillo - Skrtel - Lovren - Moreno
Gerrard
Henderon - Lallana
Sterling
Borini - Balotelli

Aye .. good win at spurs and taken care of citeh tonight. Will be a tough game saturday.

City have been awful especially at the back. If you thought Lovren has been having a tough time..........Mangala 

I think its clear we need 2 up top. Would have gone for Lambert had Mario not got a goal last night. Went for Hendo in the middle instead of Lallana as Gerrard needs some help covering ground.

                                    Mig
      Manquillo     Skrtel     Lovren     Moreno
                                 Gerrard
       Sterling           Henderson         Coutinho
                      Borini            Balotelli

Looks like they are on form at the minute

Every team we've played against so far this season we seem to have caught just as they are hitting top form.

Every team we've played against so far this season we seem to have caught just as they are hitting top form.

Or is it we are just way off with ours?

True they have had a good run of late but we always get time and space to play at St James' and hopefully it'll be the same Saturday.

Borini has to start alongside Mario for me.

May be a lot tougher game than I was expecting after their midweek win over Citeh.

Still think we will have too much for them and if we play with two up front (not sure we will) I think we can win this convincingly.

Going for 2-0 but not as confident as I was a couple of days ago.

May be a lot tougher game than I was expecting after their midweek win over Citeh.

Still think we will have too much for them and if we play with two up front (not sure we will) I think we can win this convincingly.

Going for 2-0 but not as confident as I was a couple of days ago.

I hope we play 2 up front. Or at least have Borini in the team.

We will need to score at least 3 to win i fear.

Kolo, Lucas and Jones to start for me. Defence looked far more comfortable without Skrtel and Mignolet flapping around against the Swans.

                       Jones

Johnson      Kolo       Lovren    Enrique

                       Lucas

           Gerrard        Coutinho

                      Sterling

             Balotelli         Borini

                 
             
           

Mig
Manquillo - Skrtel - Lovren - Moreno
Gerrard
Henderon - Lallana
Sterling
Borini - Balotelli

So Coutinho, who has been far away our best player of late, doesn't make your team? That's bizarre.

So Coutinho, who has been far away our best player of late, doesn't make your team? That's bizarre.

I would also start Toure ahead of Skrtel after his performance Tuesday night.

Newcastle on a bit of a good run after a slow start, hopefully we can put them back in their place.

I'd go with...
                                 Mignolet
            Manquillo   Skrtel   Lovren   Moreno
                                 Gerrard
                        Henderson   Coutinho
                                 Sterling
                          Borini       Balotelli

Jones; Toure, Johnson; Can, Lallana; Markovic, Lambert

Its clear that Balotelli needs a player up there with him and it seems that Borini has played his way into the team with his performance v Swansea. Hopefully we can be a bit more efficient going forward than in previous weeks and I'm sure we will take the 3 points.

2-0 Balotelli + Gerrard

I would also start Toure ahead of Skrtel after his performance Tuesday night.

Cannot go much wrong with that given our defence of late.

Wont ever happen but

             Mignolet

Manquillo Gerrard Lovern Moreno

Sterling Hendo Coutinho  Lallana

           Borini  Balotelli

Balotelli only because after scoring he might liven up. I can see now people saying "that midfiled would get torn up" They wouldnt they are actually all very good at tracking back and putting the foot in

Sterling and Lallana huggingthe sidelines all day Stevie would put them away a few times with his passing from centre half

Or is it we are just way off with ours?

True they have had a good run of late but we always get time and space to play at St James' and hopefully it'll be the same Saturday.

Borini has to start alongside Mario for me.

We've played West Ham and Southampton who've had outstanding starts to the season. Hull we caught just as they had got a result against Arsenal, QPR suddenly hit top form against us and have now won their next game, Aston Villa were unbeaten when they played us. Tottenham had just beat QPR 4-0 when they played us and West Brom had just won 3 games in a row when they played us. Now Newcastle have also won three games in a row and they are about to play us.

We've been a bit unlucky in that while we've been struggling with our own form we've caught most of the teams we've played so far on their best form.

Wont ever happen but

             Mignolet

Manquillo Gerrard Lovern Moreno

Sterling Hendo Coutinho  Lallana

           Borini  Balotelli

Balotelli only because after scoring he might liven up. I can see now people saying "that midfiled would get torn up" They wouldnt they are actually all very good at tracking back and putting the foot in

Sterling and Lallana huggingthe sidelines all day Stevie would put them away a few times with his passing from centre half

Interesting suggestion to put Gerrard at centre back. It's crazy how many positions he could/can play. The most complete player in that sense that I've seen or heard of in a long, long time.

Usually our whipping boys but might not be the case this time around. Just a win will do me.

Bib theory team prediction - white bibs look like starters. I didn't see either of Johno or Manquillo in the pics, but I think I saw Kevin Stewart in a white bib in one of the pics (kind of hard to tell) so maybe BR is ready to give him a chance. Neither of Kolo or Lovren were in white, but with sakho still injured one of them is certain to start. Coutinho also not in white, and I'd be particularly disappointed if he doesn't start as he's been our most in form player lately.

Migs
Stewart-Skrtel-Lovren-Moreno
Gerrard
Allen - Can
Lallana
Sterling-Balotelli

Personally think Sterling could use a break and some time on the bench, maybe bring him in as an impact sub if the game isn't going our way.

I'm thinking something like this.....

                             Migs

Manquillo       Skrtel        Lovren       Moreno
     

                          Gerrard

          Hendo                       Lallana
 
                          Coutinho
 
                 Balo              Borini

                  Migs
Manquillo Skrtel Lovren Moreno
                 Gerrard
       Henderson   Sterling
                Coutinho
            Borini  Lallana

early kickoff... hope the lads are awake for this 



I like to see more of borini up front with balo.  cou and sterling of course as well.  however, lallana on for either one of those two I wouldn't have a big issue about

anyidea when sakho is back?  also I think we'll see skrtel reunited with lovren.  Moreno and Johnson on the sides

and of course, Gerrard and hendo. 

I'm putting this out there...

Toure for me out of all our centre backs.

I'm putting this out there...

Toure for me out of all our centre backs.

as in "hes the shitttest of"

as in "hes the shitttest of"

Ha ha I rate him mate. Genuinely.

Hope Jones and Kolo retain their places, both deserve it after Tuesdays performance. Any win will do

I'd also go with that team for this one.


Mignolet

Manquillo
Skrtel
Lovren
Moreno

Gerrard (c)

Henderson
Coutinho

Sterling

Borini
Balotelli

Come on the Redmen!

 

as in "hes the shitttest of"

 

Borini
Balotelli

Balotelli plays better with a striker beside him.
In his first months in Milan Pazzini was fit and played nearly always: they both played pretty well.
Last year he had difficulties because he was lined up as a lone striker (in a 4-2-3-1).
Leaving aside his behavior on the pitch, with another striker he can perform at his best.

I'm putting this out there...

Toure for me out of all our centre backs.

Can't be any worse. Can he?

Don't think any defender is defendable right now. All have been sub-Championship standard.

Moreno is the only name on the sheet right now.

Can't be any worse. Can he?

At least he hasn't scored an own goal - **yet**

This is typical, Newcastle have been crap all season so far but just as it approaches us playing them they hit some good form. Won't be an easy game.

Really need a win in this one. Any kind of scrappy performance as long as we get three points. Don't fancy our chances of winning against Chelsea the following week so 3 points here would be important.

Really need a win in this one. Any kind of scrappy performance as long as we get three points. Don't fancy our chances of winning against Chelsea the following week so 3 points here would be important.

Agree, think more is being made of Newcastle's form than is necessarily true.

This, while not simple, is a must win for us as the moment. Like you Barnes, I don't see us getting anything from the Chelsea game and we're essentially in the pack. Falling behind a massive amount of teams at this stage, while not many points, would take an enormous amount of time to recover.

Agree, think more is being made of Newcastle's form than is necessarily true.

This, while not simple, is a must win for us as the moment. Like you Barnes, I don't see us getting anything from the Chelsea game and we're essentially in the pack. Falling behind a massive amount of teams at this stage, while not many points, would take an enormous amount of time to recover.

As long as we don't give away a cheap goal early, we should be able to counter attack Newcastle comfortably. They'll come out all guns blazing now they've had a few wins. We need to put them back in their box. 

Have been a bit optimistic, and gone for a 3 1 win for the Reds, in the Prediction League. There are usually plenty of goals between the two sides in this particular fixture.

Mig
      Manquillo     Skrtel     Lovren     Moreno
                                 Gerrard
       Sterling           Henderson         Coutinho
                      Borini            Balotelli
\

Yeah, I like the look of this, but will Brendan go for 2 up top ?
Probably not, but you'd think he may have learnt by now.
 Just our luck that the bar codes have hit a bit of form. Need to keep it tight at the back, and stop the service from their midfield, while coutinho and Sterling cut loose and support the front two.
Always the optimist, I'm going for 2 - 1 to the might reds. Hard fought close game with Couts slotting the winner.

Fabio - to play, or not to play. While I reckon we should be looking to offload him asap/in Jan for the summer fees mentioned, when Mario plays, we've started to look better with a striker up there with him. Lambert is struggling badly to find touch/form, so much so that even though Borini generally disappoints ( even after a decent performance like against Swansea, when while he didn't score, he ran around a lot / got some shots in, which had people wetting their undees ) would seriously consider sticking him up there with Balotelli. In saying that, would not be surprised if Ricky started. Rock/hard place, it's a close call.
After last season, and S&S scoring bagfulls, having to pick between Fabio and Ricky is pretty sobering.

Balotelli plays better with a striker beside him.
In his first months in Milan Pazzini was fit and played nearly always: they both played pretty well.
Last year he had difficulties because he was lined up as a lone striker (in a 4-2-3-1).
Leaving aside his behavior on the pitch, with another striker he can perform at his best.

Good to hear from our resident AC Milan fan here that Balotelli also struggled as a lone striker in Milan. Hopefully after the Swansea game Brendan will give up forcing the lone striker role on Balo and play him with a striking partner instead, we may just get the best out of him.

It depends how BR thinks newcastle will set up.
If they set up to park the bus, then the same as the last couple of games for me with 1 up top until the hour mark.
Batter them, pull them around, tire them out, then throw on creative players and another striker.

Personally, I don't think Pardew will play that way, so I hope we play 2 up top, Coutinho, Henderson (niggles permitting) and Gerrard, with Sterling behind the front 2.

I'd definitely play Borini after his game the other night, along with Balotelli.
I think the lad has earned his chance.
Now he needs to grab it with both hands and put in another good performance.

Mignolet

Manquillo  Skrtel  Lovren  Moreno

Henderson

Sterling Lallana

Coutinho

Borini  Balotelli

The best defense is a good offense.

Like most, I gave Mario a bit of stick the past few weeks. That all stopped when I heard he was booed coming on by his very own 'supporters'. Time to get behind him. While he wears the red jersey he is the man. Confidence will not be breath by being negative to our players.

He will come good.

Like most, I gave Mario a bit of stick the past few weeks. That all stopped when I heard he was booed coming on by his very own 'supporters'. Time to get behind him. While he wears the red jersey he is the man. Confidence will not be breath by being negative to our players.

He will come good.

I thought it was the Swansea fans booing?

This lot should be on a high after winning the League Cup on Wednesday.

Hopefully Stevie will continue with his scoring record against them. It seems like a no brainer to start with Borini after Swansea but I thought starting  Coutinho was a no brainer last week against Hull so we'll just have to wait and see.

Can't  call this one.

Just Read Tiote And Cisse have been ruled out for our game.

I fancy us here. Our second really good performance of the season, a comfortable 3-1 win.

Admire the optimism on here

Mignolet

Manquillo
Skrtel
Lovren
Moreno

Gerrard
Henderson
Coutinho

Sterling
Lallana
Balotelli

Play Sterling and Lallana much tighter to Mario. Kept a clean sheet last week with Skrtel so Kolo sits out.

Mignolet

Manquillo
Toure
Lovren
Moreno

Gerrard
Henderson
Coutinho

Sterling
Lallana
Balotelli

Play Sterling and Lallana much tighter to Mario. Kept a clean sheet midweek with Kolo so Skrtel sits out.

Hate to break it to you mate but Swansea did score in midweek :0)

Fixed my typo when I realised. I don't want Kolo playing.

Hate to break it to you mate but Swansea did score in midweek :0)

 And you're a quicker quoter than Crouchy is an editer.

Hate to break it to you mate but Swansea did score in midweek :0)

Sure Crouchie meant the league game , just have a feeling we will hit a few goals today been seeing signs of an upturn very small signs granted but i still feel they are there ,bit of luck going our way and we could have battered hull last week ,move it on a bit this week come on you reds lets have a perfect start to the day .

You boys must be perched by your keyboards .

very tough game, the toon are on the up ... very afraid of this match, hope the lads give their all and we come up as winners

Gonna miss most of this as my baby is getting christened. So we will give the performance of the season and smash them 5 or 6 nil ;0

Come on redmen!!

Gonna miss most of this as my baby is getting christened. So we will give the performance of the season and smash them 5 or 6 nil ;0

Come on redmen!!

Congratulations mate.... hopefully you are not going to name your baby after the WHOLE Liverpool squad.

Congratulations mate.... hopefully you are not going to name your baby after the WHOLE Liverpool squad.

no just Kolo

Never know what to expect at Newcastle, we usually thrash them or play absolutely sh*te and drop points.

Never know what to expect at Newcastle, we usually thrash them or play absolutely sh*te and drop points.

So we'll win, lose or draw then? 

Like WAHS I can't call this one.

We normally play well against them but their run of form has come just before we play them.