Newcastle Seek for Response Against Liverpool 

After losing narrowly 1-0 to defending champions, Manchester City, Newcastle would be seeking a response as they welcome another English heavyweight side, Liverpool, to St. James’ Park tomorrow. The match which no doubt is the headline fixture in gameweek three of the 2023-24 Premier League season is expected to be a fascinating encounter

The Magpies were beaten 1-0 by treble winners, Manchester City in their most recent affair, while the Reds came from behind to put Bournemouth to the sword 3-1 at Anfield.

Having hit Aston Villa for five during a vivacious attacking display on the opening day, some Newcastle fans may have embarked on their journeys to the Etihad quietly hopeful of slaying a Manchester City side still feeling the effects of their UEFA Super Cup exploits.

It was not to be for Eddie Howe’s men at the Etihad, though, as the lively Phil Foden set up Julian Alvarez for the decisive goal in the 31st minute, and the Citizens could and probably should have won by more had Erling Haaland not left his shooting boots in the changing room.

While Haaland endured an off day in front of goal, Howe also departed the Etihad with a bitter taste in the mouth, having felt that his side failed to hit their newly-established lofty expectations in the wake of their ruthless success over Aston Villa.

The Magpies enter the third gameweek of the season sitting in eighth place in the table, although the early-season standings certainly count for little at this stage, but it is now just one clean sheet in 13 Premier League affairs for this weekend’s hosts.

On the flip side, Newcastle have only been beaten three times at St James’ Park in the Premier League since the start of 2022, although two of those defeats have come against Liverpool, who unlike Howe’s side did manage to turn around a one-goal deficit to triumph last weekend.

Even before some fans had taken their seats at Anfield during Liverpool’s meeting with Bournemouth last weekend, chaos reigned supreme, as Antoine Semenyo broke the deadlock for the Cherries with just three minutes on the clock after Andoni Iraola’s side had already had a strike ruled out in the earliest stages.

With new signing Wataru Endo only deemed ready for a place on the bench, Liverpool’s distinct lack of a defensive presence in midfield was being exposed by Bournemouth, but the Reds soon found their rhythm and fought back through Luis Diaz’s acrobatic strike, Mohamed Salah’s penalty rebound and Diogo Jota’s tap-in.

Even a second-half red card to Alexis Mac Allister – which has since been rescinded – did not impact Liverpool’s momentum in the final half-hour, but as ever, Alisson Becker had to bail his side out on a couple of occasions in the dying embers to help the Reds get off the mark at the second time of asking.

Victory over Bournemouth stretched Liverpool’s unbeaten streak in the Premier League to 13 matches since April’s thumping at the hands of Manchester City, and Jurgen Klopp’s men have also made the net ripple in 12 of those contests, while their 113 goals against Newcastle is their most against a single opponent in the Premier League era.

Thanks to Nick Pope’s rush of blood to the head and subsequent sending off, Liverpool defeated Newcastle 2-0 at St James’ Park in February to record their fourth win on the bounce against the Magpies, who memorably succumbed to Fabio Carvalho’s last-gasp Anfield winner almost exactly a year ago.

Meanwhile, seeking to pick themselves up from a disappointing defeat last weekend, Manchester United play host to Nottingham Forest at Old Trafford this afternoon.

The visitors, meanwhile, are looking to claim their first top-flight away win since Janarury and end their 29-year wait for a victory over the Red Devils.

After scraping past a spirited Wolverhampton Wanderers outfit with a slender 1-0 victory on the opening weekend of the new season, Man United’s luck ran out last Sunday when they were put to the sword 2-0 by Tottenham Hotspur in North London.

In a frenetic contest filled with chances at both ends, with the woodwork struck three times in a first half that was largely dominated by Man United, Spurs were by far the better side after the interval, with Pape Matar Sarr breaking the deadlock on the 49-minute mark before a Lisandro Martinez own goal seven minutes from time condemned the Red Devils to their first defeat at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

Man United notably lost the midfield battle against a new-look Spurs side in the second half, which is sure to be a concern for manager Erik ten Hag, while their away form also leaves a little to be desired as they have only won three of their last 11 Premier League games on the road since the turn of the year.

The Red Devils will welcome a return to Old Trafford, though, where they have not lost in the top flight since the opening day of last season against Brighton & Hove Albion, and they will be confident of success against Nottingham Forest having won each of their last 10 meetings by an aggregate score of 36-3.

Indeed, Ten Hag’s men won all four encounters with Forest across all competitions last season without conceding a goal, including a 3-0 Premier League win at the Theatre of Dreams nine months ago.

Nottingham Forest’s valiant fightback against Arsenal on the opening weekend was ultimately in vain as they suffered a 2-1 defeat in North London, but they responded with victory by the same scoreline at home against newly-promoted Sheffield United.

Taiwo Awoniyi followed up his strike against the Gunners with a third-minute opener versus the Blades, that was later cancelled out in impressive fashion by debutant Gustavo Hamer three minutes after the break. However, it was Forest who had the last laugh as substitute Chris Wood headed home an 89th-minute winner just five minutes after entering the field of play to secure maximum points at the City Ground.

Although Steve Cooper was full of praise for his side after the victory, the Forest boss has encouraged his players to show a greater level of “ruthlessness” in the final third and avoid “complacency”.

Forest’s home form was a huge factor behind their success in avoiding relegation last season, accumulating 30 of their 38 points at the City Ground, while their form on the road was ranked the worst of all 20 Premier League clubs, winning just one, drawing five and losing 13 of their 19 away matches.

Hopes of quickly rectifying their away form will no doubt be a tall order for the Tricky Trees, who follow up their tricky trip to Arsenal with challenging visits to Man United, Chelsea and reigning champions Manchester City. Forest head into today’s fixture having lost more Premier League games against Man United than against any other opponent, while they last beat the Red Devils back in 1994 – a 2-1 win at Old Trafford.