The ascending star of Jurgen Klopp collides with Steve McClaren’s hurtling meteor this Sunday as the German’s re-energised Liverpool tackle the former England manager’s free-wheeling Newcastle United.
Four consecutive wins have elevated Liverpool to within sight of the Premier League top four and into the League Cup semifinals, while successive heavy losses to Leicester City and Crystal Palace have sent Newcastle careening into the relegation zone.
Newcastle’s porousness and Liverpool’s attacking incisiveness could spell another bleak afternoon for McClaren, whose position is reportedly under threat after just two wins in 14 league games.
But after a number of matches in which his team have conceded the first goal, Klopp is wary of giving Newcastle hope, warning his players: “Confidence is something like a small flower.
“If you have it, but somebody kicks it in the game, you see nothing. But if you don’t have it, you can get it easily back if the other team give you the opportunity to do this. That’s what we have to be prepared for.”
For all Klopp’s cautiousness, his team are flying, and McClaren will be acutely aware that all Liverpool’s best recent displays have come away from home.
They have won 3-1 at Chelsea, 4-1 at Manchester City and 6-1 at Southampton, in the League Cup quarterfinals on Wednesday, only failing to win in Klopp’s first game, at Tottenham Hotspur, which finished 0-0.
Striker Daniel Sturridge marked his first start under Klopp with a smoothly taken brace at Southampton and he is in contention to start again at St James’ Park, along with captain Jordan Henderson, who has recovered from a broken foot.
Henderson’s return to fitness is timely, with Emre Can suspended after picking up five bookings, but Klopp says that he will ease the England international back into high-octane action carefully.
McClaren has major injury problems, with no fewer than nine senior squad members currently sidelined. Newcastle came in for some withering criticism after last weekend’s abject 5-1 defeat at Palace, but McClaren has defended his players against accusations that they do not have the heart for a relegation fight.
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