Still on a one-way street to Premier League title glory after the weekend's events, runaway leaders Liverpool pit their wits against Newcastle United at St James' Park on Wednesday evening.
Arne Slot's men effectively knocked Manchester City out of the title race with a 2-0 triumph over the faltering champions on Sunday, one day after the Magpies were pegged back in the final moments of a 1-1 draw with Crystal Palace.
Match preview
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Following the pre-game script to a tee, Liverpool were the men and Man City were the boys at Anfield on Sunday afternoon - in the words of Gary Neville - and the only real surprise from the Reds' two-goal win is that they did not sink the hapless holders by a more emphatic scoreline.
Cody Gakpo's tap-in at the back post and Mohamed Salah's second-half penalty saw Liverpool open up an astonishing 11-point gap over Man City, although a smirking Pep Guardiola still mustered up a six-finger retort to the Liverpool fans joking about an imminent P45.
However, the most relevant figure of six on Sunday was Man City's sixth defeat from their last seven games in all competitions, and in addition to extending their lead over the champions into the double figures, Liverpool remain nine clear of closest challengers Arsenal and Chelsea with a third of the season played.
No team in Premier League history with at least a six-point lead after 13 games has failed to win the title, and many believe that the race for glory is already a foregone conclusion while Liverpool continue to sweep aside foes left right and centre; they have now won seven games in a row in all competitions.
Furthermore, each of the Reds' last eight matches has seen Slot's side net multiple goals, and the former Feyenoord boss is yet to suffer his first road defeat since stepping into Jurgen Klopp's shoes, only suffering one minor away aberration in October's stalemate with Arsenal.
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Dropped points on the road have been a far more frequent theme for Wednesday's hosts in black and white, although Eddie Howe's men were only a couple of minutes away from leaving Selhurst Park with a slender success to their name on Saturday afternoon.
Marc Guehi's unfortunate own goal from an Anthony Gordon cross looked to be the decisive moment, until the Crystal Palace defender - long linked with a big-money transfer to Newcastle - floated a delightful cross to the back stick, where Daniel Munoz arrived to head home a stoppage-time leveller.
A point on the road was at least a marginal improvement from last week's humbling 2-0 home loss to West Ham United, but Newcastle's perennial inconsistency is once again harming their European aspirations as they languish in 11th place in the Premier League table, albeit with just a four-point gap to fourth.
Having failed to defend their goal in the dying embers of Saturday's stalemate, the Magpies have a paltry two wins to show from their last nine Premier League contests and have failed to score in two of their last three top-flight games at St James' Park, where they could now lose back-to-back Premier League matches for just the third time post-takeover.
The Newcastle faithful would do well to look away now, as their side are also on a six-game losing sequence against Liverpool and have gone winless in 15 consecutive matches against the Reds since a 2-0 victory in December 2015, when future Liverpool midfielder Georginio Wijnaldum was on target.
Team News
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Liverpool kept Man City at arm's length with ease despite working around a depleted defence on Sunday, as Ibrahima Konate (knee) and Conor Bradley (hamstring) joined Kostas Tsimikas (ankle) and Alisson Becker (hamstring) on the sidelines with the issues they picked up against Real Madrid in the Champions League.
The 72-hour turnaround makes it difficult to envisage any member of the quartet returning on Wednesday - the same goes for Diogo Jota (abdominal) and Federico Chiesa (fitness) - but Slot could still make a couple of familiar alterations.
The regular Dominik Szoboszlai-Curtis Jones change could occur in the middle of the park, while a fresh-legged Darwin Nunez will no doubt displace either Gakpo or Luis Diaz, the latter of whom operated at the tip of the attack again on Sunday.
Newcastle boss Howe could also make a straight swap in the final third on Wednesday, but his change would be enforced, as star striker Alexander Isak was taken off with an apparent hip injury in the draw with Palace at the weekend.
Howe was able to provide a positive update at full time, revealing that the Swede's problem was a contact injury rather than a muscle strain or tear, but there is every chance that Callum Wilson could now make his first Premier League start of the campaign.
Sven Botman (knee), Jamaal Lascelles (knee) and Emil Krafth (shoulder) are all long-term absentees and will not play again before the New Year.
Newcastle United possible starting lineup:
Pope; Livramento, Schar, Burn, Hall; Longstaff, Tonali, Guimaraes; Gordon, Wilson, Barnes
Liverpool possible starting lineup:
Kelleher; Alexander-Arnold, Gomez, Van Dijk, Robertson; Gravenberch, Mac Allister; Salah, Jones, Gakpo; Nunez
We say: Newcastle United 0-2 Liverpool
Whether Isak is able to shake off his concern in time to face the league leaders only time will tell, but his possible absence will rob the Magpies of their chief threat against the best defence that the Premier League has to offer.
Howe's men have been found wanting in front of goal at St James' Park even with Isak in the lineup anyway, and even with a day's less rest, the Liverpool juggernaut should make light work of their unstable opponents.
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