From the outside at least it might easily appear that Newcastle are a club in crisis following a difficult summer transfer window that has seen them repeatedly fail to land their targets and with superstar striker Alexander Isak on strike trying to force a move to Liverpool.
Liverpool manager Arne Slot, though, says he doesn’t see it that way. Instead he sees a strong side, one that qualified for the Champions League last season, backed by one of the best atmospheres in football. A side Slot thinks will give his Reds a very, very tough game on Monday.
“I don’t think they’re a club in trouble,” Slot insisted. “They had a very good start to the season against Villa—I think they should have got more out of the game than one point. It’s difficult because of the players they have and the atmosphere is great, like at Anfield.
“So, we are used to a certain environment, but St. James’ Park last season the atmosphere was amazing and it will be the same. But why the atmosphere is amazing is the players can perform, they can add to the atmosphere by being as intense as they are. So, that’s going to be the challenge.
“The challenge is also a stadium where the fans will be there for the home team, and that always helps every home team. I can tell you about us, so the last 15 to 20 minutes at Anfield, it wasn’t a coincidence we scored twice because the fans helped us in that moment.”
Still, while talk of Newcastle’s summer struggles might be a little overstated and while they clearly are a very good side, one that will have home advantage under the lights for an evening kickoff, it can’t be ignored entirely that their summer hasn’t exactly gone as hoped and planned for.
They will almost certainly be a side without a recognized striker on Monday night, with Isak unlikely to be anywhere near the stadium and winger Anthony Gordon—a player who downed tools at Everton to get his move to Newcastle in 2023—currently the pick to fill in at the nine.
“I assume Isak is not playing from what I read in the media,” Slot added. “But they still have Anthony Gordon as a nine, they still have Elanga as a right-winger and Barnes from the left. This is the Premier League, we all have a lot of options and Newcastle have them as well.”