Liverpool must play their fifth Premier League match in 15 days when they take on Newcastle United at Anfield.
The Reds are just one match away from completing their grueling February schedule. In the span of two weeks, Liverpool dropped points against Everton, defeated Wolves, dropped more points against Aston Villa and dominated Manchester City. Arne Slot's men now must host Newcastle before enjoying a week's rest ahead of the Champions League round of 16.
The last time Liverpool and Newcastle squared off, they each settled for a 3–3 draw. Now, with the two sides set to meet in the Carabao Cup final on Mar. 16, they must first clash in the Premier League with three points on the line. A victory for Liverpool could see the Reds maintain their hefty lead atop the table.
Cody Gakpo returned in Liverpool's 0–2 win over City at the weekend and is available to start in Wednesday's fixture. The injured Conor Bradley, Joe Gomez and Tyler Morton remain sidelined.
Here's how Liverpool could lineup vs. Newcastle on Feb. 26.
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Liverpool Predicted Lineup vs. Newcastle United (4-2-3-1)
GK: Alisson—The Brazilian will look to keep back-to-back Premier League clean sheets for the first time in five months.
RB: Trent Alexander-Arnold—Alexander-Arnold struggled massively against Jérémy Doku and will hope to put in a better performance against Anthony Gordon on the right flank.
CB: Ibrahima Konaté—The 25-year-old will take his rightful place alongside Van Dijk.
CB: Virgil van Dijk—The captain will need to be at his best to silence Alexander Isak, who is coming off scoring a brace against Nottingham Forrest.
LB: Konstantinos Tsimikas—After Andrew Robertson logged 323 minutes in 11 days, the Scotland international is due for a break. Expect Tsimikas to get the nod against Newcastle.
DM: Ryan Gravenberch—Gravenberch is set to make his 75th appearance for the Reds on Wednesday.
DM: Alexis Mac Allister—The Argentine might have suffered a black eye from a collision with Omar Marmoush, but he is ready to play according to Slot.
RW: Mohamed Salah—Salah made history at the weekend when he became the first player in Premier League history to record 40+ goal contributions in two different seasons.
AM: Dominik Szoboszlai—Szoboszlai put in a brilliant performance against City, bagging a goal and an assist for just the second time this season. He appeared exhausted by the final whistle, though, leaving the door open for Curtis Jones to potentially replace him in the XI.
LW: Cody Gakpo—The Dutchman is in line to make his first start since suffering a knock in the Merseyside derby on Feb. 12.
ST: Luis Díaz—After both Darwin Núñez and Diogo Jota were unused substitutes against City, Díaz looks like the obvious choice to lead the line.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Liverpool Predicted Lineup vs. Newcastle United: Premier League.