Newcastle boss Eddie Howe has spoken about the battle between Martin Dubravka and Nick Pope for Newcastle's goalkeeper position.
He says he does not like having to leave players out, but accepts it is a prerequisite of being a football manager.
Image source, Getty ImagesEddie Howe has backed Lewis Miley to be an "outstanding" player at Newcastle "for a number of years".
Miley scored on Sunday in his first Premier League start of the season against Nottingham Forest, and Howe says the 18-year-old can achieve whatever he wants in the game, preferably at St James' Park.
"He can be anything - he could really solidify that position and be outstanding for us for a number of years," Howe said. "He's going to need a bit of luck to do that - every player needs to stay fit and injury free - that's why we need to look after him.
"He can do a bit of everything, he's got the running capacity - the big lungs that enable him to physically produce what he needs to in those positions.
"H has all the technical and most importantly mental capabilities. He's played some huge games but played them like he would in training.
"He's very composed - one of our best technical players - so I see a bright future but he will have all the pitfalls that young players have. He needs to stay humble and level, concentrate on his training and listen to his coaches."
After Miley missed the end of last season with a back injury and then fracturing his foot to be out for the start of this campaign, Howe stressed the importance of protecting the teenager's development.
"At 17 years old, he developed a back problem, which was a big blow for him," Howe said. "We need to recognise that fact and look after him with the utmost care at this moment in his career.
"He has the look of a guy in his early 20s. He's filled out, looks stronger and quicker. He's still going through growth spurts and his body will be changing on a daily basis so we need to have that in mind all the time."
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This fixture has plenty of history behind it - Liverpool's 4-3 win at Anfield in 1996 will always be remembered as a Premier League classic.
Newcastle come into it in good shape after a good win over Nottingham Forest, but the way Liverpool beat Manchester City was extremely impressive.
It was such a mature performance by Arne Slot's side to soak up City's possession and be so clinical in front of goal.
We know by now that Slot's side will be hard to beat, while Newcastle are still quite up and down - they were very poor when they went to Etihad Stadium last week.
They are capable of giving Liverpool a good game but I am going to say that the leaders will take the points and carry on their title charge.
Along with Forest striker Chris 'The Wood Chopper' Wood, Newcastle's Alexander Isak has been one of the best players in the Premier League this season, but there is only one candidate to be crowned player of the year.
Liverpool's Mohamed Salah's numbers are extraordinary and he looks as hungry as ever. He has been relentless, and he is not done yet.
Sutton's prediction: 2-1
Is Alexander Isak playing out of position?
Would the Sweden international leave the club if they were to fail to qualify for the Champions League this season?
Would it be a positive season for Newcastle even if they do not win a trophy?
BBC Radio Newcastle dives into all of these questions as sports editor Colin White, former Magpie defender John Anderson, journalist Ian Murtagh and NUFC fan Jackson debate everything about the club.
Listen to the episode on BBC Sounds
Image source, Getty ImagesWe asked you to tell us one thing that no-one is talking about at Newcastle United.
Here are some of your replies:
Taylor: Investment in the academy has been ramping up. While some fans worry about the lack of decent first-team transfers, we are seeing some superb youngsters developing. Miley, Munda, Sanusi, Finnegan, Harrison and more could all break through in the next two years. The future is bright - the future is black and white.
David: Jacob Murphy's form has been sensational this season, consistently contributing goals and assists. His form is that good that surely he has to be in contention for an international call-up.
John: Sitting back when we are ahead. It has been the same for years. No killer instinct as if it is a crime to hammer the opposition. When we lead we need to look to double the score.
Dale: No-one is talking about Anthony Gordon's form. I am not sure what is going on but he needs to do better. He is not consistent and can go missing at times in games.
Jack: Eddie Howe is playing around with various players' positions, something he has succeeded with in the past - with Hall, Gordon and Joelinton, for example. Against Nottingham Forest, Harvey Barnes played on the right wing when he came on for Murphy, and Osula has also had a chance in this area despite his typical position being in the centre.
Image source, Getty ImagesFormer Newcastle defender John Anderson thinks the decision to offer goalkeeper Martin Dubravka a new contract and then drop him from the starting line-up "is a really strange one".
Speaking about the decision to BBC Radio Newcastle, Anderson said: "That's what you get when you sign a new contract - I think he'll feel disappointed.
"He came in for criticism against Manchester City and I defended him - I didn't think there was a great deal he could have done for any of them [the goals].
"I think he'll feel aggrieved and he hasn't done a great deal wrong, but, it is what is it.
"I know Eddie Howe has been reluctant to say who the number one goalkeeper is, but after the decision [against Nottingham Forest] I think we all know who the number one is."
When asked if he sees Dubravka starting for the Magpies again this season, Anderson answered: "I don't think so - unless Nick Pope picks up an injury. I think he's there for the rest of the season - it's a really strange one.
"Dubravka has come in and done really, really well, then they offer him a new contract, and then they drop him. It doesn't make sense.
"They've got more goalkeepers than they know what to do with.
"They signed a kid from Nottingham Forest who they obviously don't fancy at all. He's never never involved and it wouldn't surprise me if another goalkeeper comes in the summer."
Image source, Getty ImagesSince losing their first Premier League home game against Newcastle 2-0 in April 1994, Liverpool are unbeaten in their past 28 against the Magpies at Anfield in the competition (W23 D5).
Meanwhile, Newcastle are winless in 16 Premier League games against the Reds, since a 2-0 win in December 2015 under Steve McClaren.
Newcastle United will listen to offers for goalkeeper Nick Pope in the summer. (Football Insider), external
Manchester City are interested in making Magpies right-back Tino Livramento part of their summer rebuild. (Telegraph - subscription required), external
Meanwhile, club chairman Yasir Al-Rumayyan has travelled to the city to make the final decision on stadium plans. (Sun), external
Want more transfer stories? Read Wednesday's full gossip column
Newcastle's quest for Champions League football has been debated at length, and they held on to beat rivals Nottingham Forest on Sunday.
But you know the club best, so we want to know the one thing - good or bad - going under the radar at St James' Park right now.
The Monday Night Club panel discussed PSR and the impact it is having on clubs like Newcastle.
"It must be so frustrating for Newcastle fans with these PSR rules," said former England goalkeeper Paul Robinson.
"They're the richest club in the world and the story every transfer window is: 'Oh, they have to sell Alexander Isak or Bruno Guimaraes.'
"They should be allowed to spend what other clubs have spent over the years. How are they going to close that gap quickly? They're not - they're going to have to balance the books.
"The squad that Eddie Howe wants is probably three or four windows away, but they have the money to do that now."
The Athletic journalist Rory Smith responded: "I'd go the other way on the financial rules. I get it's frustrating for Newcastle, but I'm not convinced football should be decided by which team can attract the biggest country to back it.
"There is also the benefit that, if you're Arsenal, you probably can't sign Isak any more as it would put you at risk of breaking the rules.
"That makes Isak more likely to stay at Newcastle and there is a bigger spread of talent throughout the league."
Watch Monday Night Club on BBC iPlayer or listen on BBC Sounds
Charlotte Robson
Fan writer
I wrote last week that I was getting whiplash from these results and performances. People have been saying inconsistency is Newcastle United's identity this season, and we managed to typify that literally within the game this weekend. What a feat!
We started against top four side Nottingham Forest reasonably well, aside from a mistake causing us to concede within six minutes. If you ignore that bit, it was fine.
Then came a wild 12 minutes in which we scored four goals. By the fourth goal, the crowd was laughing, enjoying a complete performance in which we totally dominated a team that we were worried about facing.
By 90 minutes, I was not laughing. I looked around at the faces in the stand. We had all visibly aged. It is a draining thing as a fan to feel so heartened and comfortable at one moment then anxious and desperate the next.
One thing that stuck out to me was the nervousness. After half-time, Newcastle were not really playing like a team 4-1 up. We looked worried.
Did whatever Nuno Espirito Santo said (and did, switching Callum Hudson-Odoi and Anthony Elanga) to his team just work?
Newcastle played like they were barely clinging on to a lead, misplacing passes and panicking on the ball. Substitutions were made a little late and could not calm the pace of the game and it was scrappy.
I am not angry about it, as people on social media seem to be (permanently, about everything). I am just confused and unsettled.
We are about to play Liverpool, who are 20 points ahead of us and having an incredible season.
At half-time on Sunday at St James' Park, I was thinking that it might be a good game at Anfield. By full-time, I was thinking Liverpool must be buzzing to be up against us next.
Find more from Charlotte Robson at the True Faith: Newcastle United Podcast, external
Nat Hayward
BBC Sport journalist
Newcastle boss Eddie Howe has been speaking to the media before Wednesday's Premier League game against Liverpool at Anfield (20:15 GMT).
Here are the key lines from his news conference:
Sandro Tonali "came through fine" in his substitute appearance against Nottingham Forest and Howe "anticipates he will now be fully fit" for the trip to the league leaders.
Sven Botman is "improving quickly" and will be "very close" for the Wednesday's game, while Joelinton "is another player who could be quite close".
More on Joelinton: "It's similar to Sven. He is really improving, doing really well and pushing. He has those key aspects we have missed when he's not there. His physicality and strength there is an obvious presence missing in our midfield. Joey is a massive player for us."
On the "emotional" challenge of playing at Anfield: "We need to be close to a perfect game from our perspective. Psychologically, it's huge. It's an emotional stadium - we're going to need to start well, and we need to have a threat in the game."
More on facing the league leaders and dealing with Mohamed Salah down Newcastle's left: "It's always not down to any one individual in the team. It's about the team supporting that area of the pitch."
Howe recalled Nick Pope ahead of Martin Dubravka in goal after his return from injury: "I had a conversation with Martin. It's always difficult because every player wants to play and I have many difficult conversations with many players on a regular basis. That's part of my job. But Martin's a top professional and he will respond in the right way."
On Alexander Isak, who has reached 50 Premier League goals faster than Harry Kane, Sergio Aguero and Thierry Henry: "It highlights how well he's done it when you look at the names. He's come in with a great attitude to the club. He's come in hungry to succeed and eager to help the team. He's not been selfish in that period, he's not thought of himself, he's always played for the team and I'm delighted for him."
Follow all of Tuesday's Premier League news conferences and the rest of the day's football news
Listen to more from Howe on BBC Sounds
Pat Nevin
Former footballer and presenter
Image source, Getty ImagesI popped down the road to Newcastle at the weekend for the visit of Nottingham Forest, expecting the unexpected. Forest recently won 7-0 against Brighton and lost 5-0 to Bournemouth in successive games. Newcastle have similar Jekyll and Hyde tendencies. Neither let the recent narrative down in a breathless seven-goal thriller. Newcastle were exceptional in the first half and the visitors abject. They changed ends at the break and suddenly Newcastle were abject and Forest very good.
Not only is it impossible to predict their games, it is impossible to guess from one half to the next. This is why the race for the European places is such a joy this season. The gap between third and 11th is only seven points and any one of those nine clubs is well capable of finishing in the top five.
Newcastle fans are conflicted about what they would prefer between Champions League football or winning the EFL Cup against Liverpool in a couple of weeks. I guess most local fans would choose the glory of their first major domestic trophy since the 1950s, whereas the hierarchy and maybe even the manager might go for the financial grail of the Champions League.
In the longer term, things look good. Their youngsters Tino Livramento and Lewis Hall have the full-back positions sorted for a generation, but the real upcoming star will probably be Lewis Miley. Last season, when he was only 17, I said he could be an England international in the making.
Since then, he has had injuries and this was his first league start for a year. He still scored the Toon's opener, played with the assurance of a seasoned campaigner and looked to me as good as anyone in the midfield already. This kid is going to be a true star.
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Sweden striker Alexander Isak may be allowed to leave Newcastle if they do not qualify for next season's Champions League, with Liverpool and Arsenal interested in the 25-year-old. (Mirror, external)
Newcastle are considering a summer move for Atalanta's Nigeria striker Ademola Lookman, 27, and could face competition from Manchester United. (Teamtalk, external)
Lookman will leave Atalanta after falling out with manager Gian Piero Gasperini. (Sky Sports Switzerland - in French, external)
Want more transfer stories? Read Tuesday's full gossip column
Newcastle may have fallen over the line in seeing off Nottingham Forest but their endeavour during the win was noteworthy.
The Magpies clocked 109.6km of running as a team compared to 103.47km for Forest.
Furthermore, the Magpies produced 173 sprints, with Forest on 35 fewer.
Are Nuno Espirito Santo's side running out of steam given their superb season so far? Or are Eddie Howe's side finding that extra bit of hustle at the business end of the campaign?
Bruno Guimaraes (11.7km) and Lewis Miley (11.2km) broke the 11km barrier, with no Forest player doing so.
Left-back Lewis Hall was the busiest player on the day with a game-high 96 touches. He completed 89% of his passes, including an impressive 92% of passes he attempted in the final third.
No player had more duels than Hall's 17 and the former Chelsea player won 11 of them. Hall created three chances on the day, with only Forest's Chris Wood reaching the same figure.
You've heard the cliche - now we can show it.
The above graphic, newly available via the Match Stats tab on every Premier League match report, demonstrates starkly how the pendulum swung in Sunday's ding-dong game between Newcastle and Nottingham Forest.
Essentially, the visual represents every minute of the game and shows the likelihood each team had of scoring in that moment of the match.
The more likely a goal for a team, the bigger the bar.
So in the first half, the glut of yellow bars represents just how dominant Newcastle were, obviously having four goals to show for it.
However, after the break, back came Forest, and the swathe of white demonstrates their pressure on the Newcastle goal and just how close they came to getting back on terms.
To get into the weeds of how it works, check out our full explainer here and make sure to keep an eye out on every game your team plays in the Premier League from now on.
Image source, PA MediaEddie Howe hopes to find a solution to the "inconsistent" spells between and during games which have been a feature of Newcastle's season.
The Magpies responded to a heavy defeat at Manchester City by beating Nottingham Forest 4-3 at home on Sunday.
Newcastle scored four goals in a blistering first-half period, but Forest fought back from 4-1 behind at the break and almost earned a point.
"The challenge we need to pose each other as a group is to find solutions in those moments to help the players," Howe said. "That's what I'll go away now and try to figure out.
"This has happened too many times this season, where we've been inconsistent game to game, but we've been inconsistent in-game as well.
"Ultimately we've won the game so I have to be very pleased. That was a tough game - we knew it was going to be - but the players were magnificent in their response to conceding, so loads of good stuff to take away and of course some stuff to improve.
"We need to know when we go to Liverpool [on Wednesday] what we're going to get. Our learning and future growth is going to be, even within games, finding that way of playing that we don't deviate from."
Image source, Getty ImagesWe asked for your thoughts after Sunday's Premier League game between Newcastle and Nottingham Forest.
Here are some of your comments:
Newcastle fans
Anth: Elation, frustration, stress and then panic left me in an emotional puddle! From Mount Everest to the ocean floor! A game of two halves just doesn't do that justice. I'm grateful for the three points and loved the first half, but I had to borrow fingernails at the end as the second half screeched towards its inevitable, excruciating conclusion. Liverpool looming fills me with not a little trepidation!
Tony: Eddie Howe says we are at our best when we play free-flowing, attacking football. That's what we did in the first half and blew Forest away - we were unplayable. Second half was abysmal and we let Forest get a foothold, get back into the game and get hope. This side is either brilliant or awful, with no in between.
Davy: Three valuable points and back to winning ways. However, lots still to be concerned about. Sloppy passing throughout and constantly losing possession. Made what should have been an easy victory into a difficult one. Three points though and a magnificent performance from Lewis Hall.
Mark: The defensive implosion, not just in this game but in recent games in general, has been very worrying. That's seven conceded in our past two in the league, or 14 in the past five. That's not going to get us Champions League football, no matter what Alexander Isak does at the other end. No game has better summed up just how devastating we can be - both to ourselves and opponents.
Kian: Sums up our season! Great attacking football first half then enter the second half, sit back and drip feed goals back to the opposition. It seems both sets of fans looked despondent after the game. That says it all - but great for the neutral! It's been a lifetime, literally, since we won a cup so let's see how many goals we can hold back against Liverpool at Anfield next.
Jill: Why on earth does the team act like a pricked balloon when they have a good lead? It seems as if they imagine they can cruise to victory, when with effort they can keep on the front foot. They are not good enough yet to be able to control a whole game against teams they imagine are weaker than themselves. Or is it complacency, which would be horrible to see?
Image source, Getty ImagesFormer Premier League striker Troy Deeney has praised the "maturity" of Newcastle United academy graduate Lewis Miley, after the 18-year-old scored in Newcastle's 4-3 win over Nottingham Forest.
Speaking on Match of the Day 2, Deeney said Miley gives Eddie Howe another "great option" in central midfield.
"Take away from that baby face, this is a mature man playing in midfield," he added. "To drop Sandro Tonali and put Lewis Miley in there shows the confidence Eddie Howe has in him.
"When you watch him, he plays it and he doesn't just stand there and watch, he gets after the ball again and keeps himself as an option.
"He is always in space. He has always got time because he plays it and goes forward again.
"He isn't happy just watching his work, you can see his tenacity. How many times does he win headers? It's like he says: 'No problem, let's keep the ball alive.'
"These are all the scrappy things you don't get in under-23s football, such as doing your job at the back post where most young players would switch off.
"He is from the Toon and you can tell he wants this so bad. This isn't somebody who plays under-23s football, this is someone who is a mature young man."
Highlights and analysis from Sunday's two Premier League fixtures, plus the best of the action from the rest of the weekend.
If you missed Match of the Day 2, catch up now on BBC iPlayer.
And you can watch Saturday's Match of the Day here.
Listen back to the weekend's full match commentaries on BBC Sounds:
