Venue: St James’ Park
Date: 27/04/13
Kick-Off: 17:30
Daniel Sturridge looks set to lead the line for Liverpool on Saturday as Luis Suarez begins his ten match ban for biting Branislav Ivanovic.
Suarez revealed on Friday that he will not appeal the ban, meaning that the Uruguayan will miss the last four games of this season and the first six games of next season. With Liverpool short of strikers as a result of Suarez’s lengthy ban, the news that Fabio Borini has returned to full training provided a timely boost for the Reds.
Sturridge changed the game when he came on as a half-time substitute against his former club, and his goal in that game was his sixth for Liverpool since signing for the club in January. The loss of Suarez means that Sturridge will become even more important for Liverpool, while Reds fans will hope that skipper Steven Gerrard can add to his tally of 9 league goals on Sunday.
Newcastle will be without midfielder Sylvain Marveaux, who is sidelined with a groin injury; however Chieck Tiote is fit again after missing last weekend’s game at West Brom with a hamstring problem. Club captain Fabricio Coloccini is back in training after a seven-week absence with a back injury, but the Argentine defender is short of match fitness and is unlikely to start on Saturday.
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Liverpool go into the weekend still five points behind sixth-placed Everton, while Newcastle are 16th with 37 points. Alan Pardew’s team will want at least one more win to take them to 40 points, which should guarantee them safety from relegation, and the Magpies will feel confident about their chances on Sunday after winning this fixture 2-0 last season.
Papiss Cisse scored both goals in that game and the Senegalese forward is the club’s joint top scorer this season with 13 goals in all competitions.
Liverpool have a good recent record against Newcastle, having won six of the last nine meetings between the two teams. A win on Saturday would see Brendan Rodgers’ side end a run of three successive draws, while defeat could see Liverpool fall even further behind Everton in the league.
Given that the Merseyside derby is coming up next weekend and it has been 50 years since Everton finished about Liverpool for two seasons running, the Reds still have something to play for this campaign – local bragging rights.
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Toon Toon Black and White Army. Ben Arfa is going to show some real ‘bite’ today and explode your defence to pieces