ARE Newcastle United or Liverpool good this season? We are only two games into the 23/24 Premier League season but the early signs are positive for each of these two teams.
Jurgen Klopp’s tactical tweak has proven effective for LiverpoolCredit: Rex
But Eddie Howe has Newcastle well-drilledCredit: Getty
Newcastle have continued to strengthen their squad with sensible additions, including Italian international Sandro Tonali from AC Milan, and they are well-coached and strong from a tactical point of view.
They will also come into this game with the formidable home support of St. James Park behind them.
Liverpool, on the other hand, have endured a more difficult summer with important players leaving the club.
They are still, however, more than capable of providing a dangerous opponent to any team in the Premier League.
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Newcastle will be difficult to break down
Sven Botman and Fabian Schar proved too tough to handle for Erling HaalandCredit: ALAMY
The evolution of Newcastle since their takeover by the PIF and their emergence as the most wealthy club in European football has been extremely interesting.
It would have been easy for new owners to have insisted on the signing of players to supplement the attack in order to bring an attacking spark to the club.
Instead, with the notable exception of Swedish international Alexander Isak, we have seen the club support their coach Eddie Howe in building the team from the back.
Last season Newcastle finished 4th in the Premier League as they qualified for the Champions League.
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Newcastle’s compact defensive block is tough to get through
So far this season, with a dominant win over Aston Villa and a close loss to Manchester City, we have seen the defensive solidity of Newcastle continuing.
In the above example from the match against City, we can see the organisation of Newcastle’s defensive block back in their own half.
Howe would have known the opposition would dominate possession, and consequently, we saw Newcastle allow them to have possession in the back line as they remained in a tight block ahead of the ball.
Liverpool have returned to using rotations and movements in the attacking phase to draw and drag defensive players out of position and to create space in the opposition half, meaning the Toon defence will be tested to the max.
Newcastle deploy a strong low block
Mohamed Salah, Diogo Jota and Luis Diaz have all looked good, particularly in the 3-1 win over Bournemouth when making movements deep and towards the ball or long and away from the ball to create and use space.
While Newcastle are effective in a deeper block they will still need to work hard in order to maintain their shape and discipline as Liverpool’s front three rotate.
Newcastle’s proficiency in the defensive phase has also seen them impress in terms of their work rate and pressing as their opposition look to build their attack from deep.
Newcastle’s pressing unit is coherent against even the best teams
Here, as City are building from deep we see Newcastle initially look to move high to engage the ball and prevent City from playing through easily.
They are aggressive in terms of going man-to-man and looking to prevent the ball from reaching the halfway line.
Towards the end of last season and into this season we saw Liverpool adopt a box midfield in an effort to get Trent Alexander-Arnold, who moves from right-back into the midfield, onto the ball in the build-up phase.
Newcastle will need to make sure that they are able to put pressure on Liverpool as they possess the ball at the base of the midfield or the away side will find routes to play through and into the final third.
How effective will Liverpool be in build-up?
Virgil van Dijk’s passing out the back will be key in playing through Newcastle’s pressCredit: Alamy
The question of how best to use the strengths of Alexander-Arnold have been asked ever since the 24-year-old England international broke through at senior level.
His ability in the right half-space for Liverpool was notable, as was his ability to whip crosses towards the back post from the corner of the opposition area he provided danger.
Now, Klopp is looking to get Alexander-Arnold in possession of the ball more centrally and in deeper areas where he can use his passing range and vision to create strong attacking opportunities for Liverpool.
When Liverpool are in possession of the ball we see Alexander-Arnold move inside to the base of the midfield in an effort to get on the ball in dangerous areas.
Liverpool’s ability to build-up from the back will be pivotal
With Alisson in goal Liverpool have a goalkeeper who is comfortable in possession.
As such Alexander-Arnold is able to rotate into the midfield with Virgil Van Dijk, Ibrahima Konate and Andy Robertson staying deeper to ensure they can move the ball out from the first line safely.
Newcastle will have to find a way to put adequate pressure on the ball when Alexander-Arnold has possession of the ball due to his ability to break lines or switch the play with accuracy.
Newcastle need to use their wide player on the left to come in and continue to put pressure on the ball centrally.
With the likes of Salah and Jota showing intelligent movement from the attacking line as they drop deep and come inside there is a danger in leaving Alexander-Arnold with time and space on the ball.
Trent Alexander-Arnold is being allowed to drift infield
The midfielders pushing wide allows Alexander-Arnold to push through the middle
Here, we see the movements from Liverpool as they use their more advanced central midfielders, Dominik Szoboszlai in this case, to rotate outside into the spaces that Alexander-Arnold has left when moving inside.
This allows Liverpool to move the ball wide and as they do Alexander-Arnold will move higher to get on the ball in advanced areas.
These movements of the Liverpool players in possession are designed to allow the man in possession of the ball to always have an option to progress the ball into advanced areas.
With Alexander-Arnold becoming more of a hybrid player in terms of his positioning and movement we have seen Liverpool become a far more difficult team to defend against.
Liverpool’s new fluid front three
Liverpool’s front three is very fluidCredit: Alamy
The lack of options in the midfield for Liverpool so far this season has seen Klopp move Cody Gakpo into the midfield area as opposed to playing him as the central striker.
This has seen Portuguese international Jota used in a more central role up front with Salah to the right and Diaz to the left.
The movement and fluidity of this front three so far has been extremely effective for Liverpool in terms of creating chances and finding space.
While Jota will drop deep towards the ball Salah and Diaz come inside either into the half-spaces or the central areas to fill the spaces that have been left by the movement of the central striker.
These rotations and movements are similar to those of the famous front three of Salah, Roberto Firmino and Sadio Mane when Liverpool were last a truly dominant side.
Liverpool’s front three will pose a number of questions to the Newcastle defence
This time the rotation sees Jota making a move from a deeper area, inside the opposition half, to a higher line.
As he does we see Salah and Diaz making movements into the space that he has created.
Liverpool are narrow in their attacking shape in this example.
Meanwhile Howe’s Newcastle are very solid from a defensive point of view they tend to be structured and rigid in their defensive shape.
This means that they are likely to find it difficult to cope with the movements and positioning of the Liverpool forwards and midfielders as they move into advanced spaces.
This could be solved by moving into a more man-marking defensive structure, as we saw earlier when Newcastle pressed high and put pressure on the opposition man-to-man, but this would be a risk as it would create space for Liverpool to attack.
Mohamed Salah and Co frequently drop into midfield
The rotations of the front three are important to how Liverpool play
Once again here we see that Szoboszlai has moved outside to the wide area to create space inside.
As he does so, with Alexander-Arnold in the midfield and Salah dropping deep, we see Liverpool finding a way to break through the opposition block with a line-breaking pass from Alexander-Arnold into the feet of Salah.
In this match, if Newcastle sit too deep and allow Liverpool to have possession of the ball in dangerous central areas then the home side are likely to have a long 90 minutes.
Liverpool’s intelligent rotations and ability to find creative passing angles make it difficult for teams who want to stay structured and organised as they defend.
What does this mean?
While it is likely that Liverpool will, for the most part, dominate the ball in this game they will not have things all their own way against Newcastle.
The home side are difficult to break down and in Isak they have a genuine threat in the striker position who is capable of moving his team forward when they transition from defence to attack.
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The test for Liverpool will be whether they can turn their possession into meaningful entries into the final third and the Newcastle penalty area.
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