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Magpies "stronger" than last Anfield visit, says Howe
Written by Tom Easterby
Eddie Howe believes his Newcastle United side are in a "stronger place" than they were the last time they took on Liverpool at Anfield as they prepare for their return to Merseyside on Wednesday night (8pm kick-off).
United were beaten 3-1 by the Reds in December 2021 despite Jonjo Shelvey's early opener, as the Magpies remained in a perilous position in the Premier League table.
After their subsequent revival last term, Howe's men head to Anfield unbeaten in 2022/23 so far and the United head coach - who hopes to be able to hand new signing Alexander Isak a debut - reckons plenty has changed at Newcastle since that contest before Christmas.
Here's what else Howe spoke about during his pre-match media briefing on Friday morning...
On the shift since the Magpies' last trip to Anfield:
"I certainly think we're in a stronger place than the game against Liverpool at Anfield, when we were in a difficult position at that moment. We were just trying to stay in the game for as long as we could. I thought we performed well on the day but their quality won them the game.
"I think we're in a stronger place. The injuries are a concern to us, but I think we're unbeaten, the players are playing in a style of football and way of playing that I believe they've got confidence in. We will be extremely tested in this game, it will be a really good examination of us, but I see no reason why we shouldn't go there and give another good account of ourselves and play without fear."
On Bruno Guimarães' fitness and other injury concerns in the United squad:
"He's doing well. I don't know about this game coming up, but hopefully not far after if he doesn't make this game. He's very positive, in good spirits and desperate to get back and be involved. He's a big player for us and we have to get him back as soon as possible.
"At Tranmere we brought him on for five minutes at the end in case we needed him to take a penalty. We wanted him to be warm to take that penalty, we didn't just want to bring him on with ten seconds left - at that stage of the game, we were under pressure. Unfortunately, he just felt something in his hamstring.
"We have a few injuries at the moment - that's obvious. I don't think any of them are long-term apart from Emil (Krafth, who has suffered an ACL injury). We're hopeful we can get the main body of the squad back fit pretty quickly. Certainly for this game, I think we're slightly stretched.
"We've got Maxi (Allan Saint-Maximin), who is a worry for us at the moment. It was late in the game, off the back of his sprint to try and save the goal."
On whether he expects to be active in the transfer market before Thursday's deadline:
"I don't expect to be, to be honest. We're very pleased with the business we've done. The injuries we have we believe to be short-term. There might be a bit of short-term pain around the squad but longer-term, when those bodies are back fit, we are very strong. That's not to say that we're totally closed off - we're obviously still looking - but I don't expect any major business to be done."
On centre back Sven Botman's start to life in a Newcastle shirt:
"I think he's done very well. I thought Wolves was an excellent performance from him - very composed, very calm. I thought he used the ball very well, probably should have scored from a corner, so I certainly think he's got an imposing presence in the team and a calmness that helps us. I'm very pleased with the early signs from him."
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