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Liverpool, second in the Premier League one point behind the leader Manchester City, visits this Saturday -April 30- ninth-placed Newcastle, in the most attractive match of the 35th round of the English championship.
Newcastle and Liverpool are the two teams that have scored the most points in 2022 in England and that shows the great moment in which both formations find themselves.
The local team accumulates 43 points after 34 games, and 28 of those units have been achieved in the last 13 games. He has won his last four games. Liverpool is therefore warned before that trip, where it will try not to fail to follow its pulse from a distance with Manchester City, who will also visit Leeds on Saturday (16th).
Both City and Liverpool play this Saturday making a parenthesis between the two semifinal clashes of the European Champions League.
This week, both went ahead at home in their respective knockout rounds against Real Madrid (4-3) and Villarreal (2-0). On Tuesday, Liverpool will visit Villarreal to finish the work started and on Wednesday, City has an uncertain visit to the Santiago Bernabéu in the Spanish capital.
The match at St. James Park will be the first for Liverpool since it was announced on Thursday that German manager Jürgen Klopp, who had a contract until 2024, is extending his relationship with the club until 2026.
Colombians who want to see Luis Díaz in action will have to make the extra effort to get up early to watch the first game of the day in England. For this game, the coaching staff will not be able to count on Roberto Firmino, who is still not training with the rest of the group, which would allow the countryman to be seen for at least a few minutes on the field. Midfielder Curtis Jones and defender Kostas Tsimikas are also ruled out due to injury.
The official schedule determined that the game between Newcastle and Liverpool will be played at 6:30 in the morning (Colombian time), with transmission from ESPN and Star+ for all of Latin America.
Unknown about Salah and Mané
In the press conference prior to this match, Jürgen Klopp admitted he was not sure if his contract extension until 2026 would encourage Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mané to renew with the English club.
Salah and Mané’s contracts expire next year, as do those of Brazilian Roberto Firmino and Guinean midfielder Naby Keita. “If it’s a positive sign for the players, well, better, but I don’t think it will be decisive in the decision they make”he stated on Friday.
“It’s about their own lives, but we just want to guarantee anyone who wants to play here what they have to stand for,” he added.
Negotiations on the extension of Salah’s contract began from the first days of April, and the Egyptian admitted last week that he was not sure if he would continue in Liverpool. “If a player announces early enough that he wants to leave, then you have to accept it,” Klopp added.
Salah and Mané are two of the great architects of their team’s current success, still with options to win the four titles of the season (League Cup, FA Cup, Champions League and Premier League). The Egyptian is the top scorer in the English championship with 22 goals and also the player who has given the most assists (13).
Premier League standings
1. Manchester City – 80 points (59 Goal difference)
2. Liverpool – 79 points (63 Goal difference)
3. Chelsea – 66 points (40 DG)
4. Arsenal – 60 points (12 HD)
5. Tottenham – 58 points (18 DG)
6. Manchester United – 55 puntos (2 DG)
7. West Ham – 52 points (8 DG)
8. Wolverhampton – 49 points (4 DG)
9. Newcastle – 43 points (-15 DG)
10. Leicester City – 42 points (-4 DG)
11. Brighton – 41 points (-11 DG)
12. Brentford – 40 points (-8 DG)
13. Southampton – 40 puntos (-16 DG)
14. Crystal Palace – 38 puntos (2 DG)
15. Aston Villa – 37 points (-4 DG)
16. Leeds – 34 points (-30 AG)
17. Burnley – 31 points (-16 DG)
18. Everton – 29 points (-21 DG)
19. Watford – 22 points (-36 DG)
20. Norwich – 21 points (-47 DG)
With information from AFP.
