· December 4 2024, 09:00
In recent seasons, only Jurgen Klopp's Liverpool has left a consistent blemish on Eddie Howe's Premier League home record against "The Super League Six".
Since the beginning of the 22-23 season, Newcastle have only lost four matches out of 15 at St James' Park against the supposed six biggest sides in the league, winning nine of those. In fact, Chelsea and Manchester United (2 losses) and Spurs (3 losses) haven't picked up a single point at St James' Park in any season in which Eddie Howe began it in the manager's dugout. Arteta boasts one victory out of three in that time, and three losses in four if you count all four games they've played against Howe at SJP.
The one who got away unscathed under Howe was the "heavy metal German". Often a source of irritation amongst Geordies for his touchline antics and petulant media pot-shots at Howe and his assistant Jason Tindall, Klopp oversaw two fortuitous victories at SJP; and it's difficult to decide which was more painful.
9 wins and only 4 defeats: Eddie Howe's impressive SJP record against the Premier League's "Big Six" since the 22-23 season
Two red cards painfully summarised the fine margins of Eddie Howe's clashes with Klopp at SJP
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The first saw Liverpool race into a 2-0 lead before Newcastle custodian Nick Pope received his marching orders for fumbling the ball with his hands outside the box. That was barely 20 minutes into the game, but Newcastle actually peppered the Reds' goal with ten men, hitting the woodwork twice and spurning other chances. Three points lost that day, but of course, the real damage was that Pope missed the League Cup final defeat to Manchester United in the following match.
The second saw Darwin Nunez appear to glitch the space-time continuum and score the exact same unbelievable finish twice within three minutes to overturn a one-goal deficit and win Liverpool the game last season. This was the player that was dubbed "The Uruguayan Andy Carroll" and would often struggle to hit the target in the six-yard box; let alone beat Pope from much further out twice in succession from an impressive angle. It was the flame that lit the touchpaper for over twelve months of unpredictable home form from Newcastle... a destruction of the perceived 'fortress' under Eddie Howe. Since that game, we've seen a number of disappointing results at the Gallowgate; from conceding four to lowly Luton Town and a hat-trick for former misfiring striker Chris Wood... to conceding two without reply to a hapless West Ham side just the other week.
But before you mentally check out from this dreary trudge down memory lane... the good news, of course, is... Klopp is gone. And the German's apparent hoodoo at SJP could be gone with it.
Can Newcastle put the Klopp Nightmare behind them and attack this new Liverpool side without fear?
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Klopp's teams were defined by that "heavy metal" moniker of riding the emotions of the crowd, never knowing when they were beaten, and that indomitable belief that "you score 4... we'll score 5" that was reminiscent of Kevin Keegan's Entertainers. And of all the stadiums in the country, St James' Park is one of the most emotional of the lot... in a good and a bad way. When you're used to the noise and the passion of Anfield, St James' can almost feel like a home away from home, a fellow cauldron of noise and a canvas for Klopp's own Entertainers to strut their stuff on. Arne Slot has taken that exact same team and tempered them... hewn out the raw edges and patched up the battle scars. All while also reinvigorating the efforts of one Mohamed Salah. It's a team that can still revert to Klopp's riproaring battering ram style when needed, but can also kill you with a thousand cuts, careful ball retention and precision until the time to strike. Less of a battering ram... more of a coiled snake ready to strike. But again, there have been chinks in the armour, smatterings of over-confidence. They threatened to implode against bottom-of-the-table Southampton, impatience threatening to unravel their buildup play, and were duly punished by the pace, bravery and youthful exuberance of Tyler Dibling; who showed all the fearlessness of a debut Premier League campaign by running at Liverpool's defence and cutting them wide open. It was only a hattrick of mistakes at the back that gift-wrapped Liverpool the three points in the end. It was a similar story at fellow strugglers Wolves. Liverpool's quality showed with some incisive play that yielded a goal before a Wolves fightback threatened to spoil the party. Again, Slot was bailed out by a penalty for his team to win the points. It was pragmatic instead of pretty, but they got the job done; something they often failed to do under Klopp. There have been others too; Brighton ruing missed chances at Anfield before a quick-fire double put them to the sword, and Nottingham Forest of course; the only side to beat Slot's Liverpool this season.
Liverpool 0 - 1 Nottingham Forest: a reminder that this Liverpool side isn't invincible
Nottingham Forest aren't the only side to have given Slot's side a problem this year...
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Forest are a team with a lot of similar traits to Newcastle; fast wide players, quality passers from the base of midfield and the centre of defence... a team that doesn't need excessive buildup to cut through and punish you. Anthony Gordon, fresh from being flaunted to the Reds all summer, will relish the chance to force Trent back into his often neglected defensive duties. Providing he's fit, Isak has the pace to occupy an aging Virgil van Dijk, and Joelinton has the physicality and the fearlessness to batter more eloquent but physically inferior midfielders like Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai.
This is, of course, presuming those three in particular return to their chaotic best under Eddie Howe. Much has been made of Howe's teams being typically coached with an emphasis of work off the ball and a pressing intensity. This caters to matches against teams that enjoy the lion's share of possession, making the most of turnovers in the final third and punishing accordingly. As Newcastle's stock increased with Champions League qualification, teams were more content to sit back, let Newcastle have the ball and let them do little with it with no space to manoeuvre and drop into. It's why, (with the exception of a patheticly timid and defensive Ten Hag outfit) the "Big Six" have often struggled more than others at SJP; particularly Spurs, who enjoy having the ball and play a high line with acres of space for the pacey Gordon and Isak to exploit. Man City conceded six in their last three visits to St James' as right-back Kyle Walker struggled against Allan Saint Maximin and later Anthony Gordon having the speed (and the confidence) to actually ask questions of the right back's often naive defensive positioning and declining pace.
With expectations low and the pressure off... is now a good time for Howe to play Slot at SJP?
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
It will be interesting to see how Slot adapts to a Newcastle side that have beaten Arsenal and Spurs already this season thanks to quick turnovers and incisive, direct passing (see Isak's winners against both) yet labouring to defeats against plucky Brighton and West Ham, who were both content to sit back in a low block, defend wholeheartedly, and pray for a rare foray forward to coincide nicely with a Newcastle defensive lapse in concentration. On the whole, this is an ideal fixture for Eddie Howe as questions (perhaps louder than ever before) begin to rumble again about his longterm prospects with this team. To the outside world, we go in with minimal expectations against a team that has dropped just five points all season, but as we've seen many times under Eddie Howe; it's often when we have low expectations as underdogs against a team that plays much prettier football than us... it actually plays into our hands and we come away with a fantastic result. The Klopp hoodoo is over, let's see if we can Slot back into form with another big performance against the big boys on Wednesday night.