Liverpool will continue their push for a top six finish in the English Premier League when they travel to Sports Direct Arena – better known as St. James Park – for a match against Newcastle United on Sunday afternoon.
The match’s result will play a key role in deciding whether Pardew’s men will make it to European football next season. Liverpool have already qualified for next season’s Europa League after winning the Carling Cup in February, but are still hoping to achieve the seemingly impossible task of qualifying for the Champions League.
The Magpies, led by manager Alan Pardew, are currently in sixth place in the league table which is quite surprisingly one place above Liverpool.
The encounter on Sunday will be Andy Carroll’s first visit to his old club’s ground after his 35 million pound club record signing by Liverpool last season. The tall forward has failed to replicate his great performances for Newcastle at Liverpool so far, leaving aside a few key contributions. It remains to be seen if he will face any abuse from the fans.
After their fifth loss in six games, Liverpool manager Kenny Dalglish will be worried about the team selection ahead of the match against the Toon side. Football pundits have questioned Dalglish’s team selection in recent matches. So it would be interesting to see if King Kenny makes some big changes.
Alan Pardew will go for an attacking style of play with Demba Ba, Cisse’ and Tiote expected to form the attack. The presence of a good defensive line-up will be a plus for Newcastle as they will aim to stop the Liverpool trio of Luis Suarez, Andy Carroll and talisman Steven Gerrard.
A defeat for Liverpool would definitely put Dalglish’s position as manager for the next season in jeopardy. And Director of football Damien Comolli is also expected to face consequences if Liverpool fail to deliver good results in the final games of the season.