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2023/24 English Premier League
Matchday 3
Newcastle United v Liverpool
St James' Park
Newcastle upon Tyne, England
Sunday, 27 August 2023
Kick-off is at 15h30
Liverpool will be looking to build on their first win of the
Premier League season when they lock horns with Newcastle at St James' Park on Sunday, August 27.
The Reds were denied all three points at Stamford Bridge on the opening weekend after Axel Disasi cancelled out Luis Diaz's opener to earn a 1-1 draw for Chelsea.
However, Jurgen Klopp's side got their title challenge up and running with a 3-1 victory over Bournemouth at Anfield six days later as Diaz found the back of the net again.
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The Magpies got off to a flying start when they thrashed Aston Villa 5-1 on Tyneside to go top of the table, with Alexander Isak bagging a brace.
But they were quickly brought back down to earth after being beaten 1-0 by Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium in a game that was dominated by the defending champions.
Toon manager Eddie Howe will be demanding a response against the Merseysiders, having seen his team manage just seven attempts at goal and hitting the target once.
Isak struggled to make an impact against City and was eventually replaced by Callum Wilson in the 66th minute. The Swedish striker kept Wilson out of the team last season after recovering from a thigh injury and went on to score 10 goals in 22 appearances, although his team-mate hit a purple patch in the final two months and finish with 18 goals.
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Diaz has carried his pre-season form over into the league and is looking to score in three consecutive games in a Liverpool shirt for the first time. The Colombian winger endured a difficult first full season at Anfield, missing 21 league games with a serious knee injury and finding the back of the net just four times.
Howe acknowledged the quality was quite there to hurt City, but felt they did well to limit the hosts to just one goal.
"Tough game. As we knew it would be. They are an elite team. We tried our best to execute our plan, press high, and make it difficult for them. But they did well against that," he said.
"When the moments came for us we weren't clinical enough. The second-half showing was much better. Fitness wise we looked good, but we were technically off today, and that's where we lost the game. We turned the ball over quite a bit.
"I still thought we defended well. You can go one of two ways here, you either sit in, or try and get after them and we went for the latter. We wanted to be ourselves but we didn't quite execute that."
Klopp lauded Diaz for a "super" performance against the Cherries and has backed him to make a massive impact for the Reds if he can stay fit.
"When Lucho is fit, I think nobody has any doubt about his quality. It was an exceptional goal he scored, an absolutely exceptional goal. Top-class, in a very good shape, but the second half was really tough for him as well," the German said.
"Being part of this new midfield, that was really hard for him and you could see that. Besides that, as long as he was fresh and everything he was obviously super, super. A massive threat for everybody. He is in a good moment, no doubt about it."
Head-to-Head (Last Five Premier League Meetings)
Matches - 5
Liverpool - 4
Newcastle - 0
Draws - 1
Matchday 3 fixtures:
Friday, August 25
19h00: Chelsea v Luton Town
Saturday, August 26
11h30: Bournemouth v Tottenham Hotspur
14h00: Arsenal v Fulham
14h00: Brentford v Crystal Palace
14h00: Everton v Wolverhampton Wanderers
14h00: Manchester United v Nottingham Forest
16h30: Brighton & Hove Albion v West Ham United
Sunday, August 27
13h00: Burnley v Aston Villa
13h00: Sheffield United v Manchester City
15h30: Newcastle United v Liverpool
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