Steve Bower
BBC football commentator at St James' Park

"The contrast in fortunes couldn't be greater between these two teams. What Steve McClaren would currently give for a slice of Jurgen Klopp's apparent magic.

"What Newcastle's players lack - and Liverpool's players have regained in abundance - is belief. The body language of those in black and white looks like they don't believe they can escape their current predicament.

"They must have watched Liverpool's midweek League Cup win at Southampton from behind the sofa, as Klopp's run since taking charge was emphatically extended to only one defeat in 11 games.

"Liverpool will know they can't take their foot off the accelerator at St James' Park, but with the firepower at their disposal it could be yet another long day for McClaren and Newcastle."

Island Strife: Liverpool can go top four, but if this run they're on continues,with all the inconsistency around, you just never know...

RJH: NUFC's position will depend on Xmas buys. We need experienced defenders and leaders like Kevin Nolan. If lucky, 13th. If not, 20th.

Stuart Buck: I can see them finishing top and bottom. Liverpool full of Klopptimism, Newcastle with a rubbish manager and no drive

Where will Newcastle and Liverpool end up this season? Text us at 81111 or tweet at #bbcfootball., external

Newcastle United

Image source, Getty Images

Jurgen Klopp and his band of gegenpressing young upstarts may have got Liverpool's fans excited, but for Newcastle it has been a(nother) year of horrible, horrible results.

Can Steve McClaren stop the rot?

Football was the winner Giannina...

Image source, PA

Away from the Premier League, we’ve got eight FA Cup second-round games under way.

National League side Altrincham took an early lead at Colchester, but have since been pegged back to 1-1.

Bradford City are 1-0 up against Southern League Chesham United, while Welling are losing at home to Carlisle.

No shocks on the cards yet, but still plenty of time for things to change.

You can follow live text commentary here and watch the goals as they go in on FA Cup Final Score.

We'll keep it simple this afternoon - it's crystal ball time.

How high can Liverpool realistically expect to finish this season?

And the same answer for Newcastle. Where will these sides end up this season, and why?

Image source, Getty Images

Text us at 81111 (UK Only with your names on please) or tweet us at #bbcfootball., external

Danny Murphy
Ex-Liverpool midfielder

It is a huge ask for Newcastle to stop a resurgent Liverpool side but there are ways for them to beat the Reds' pressing game and get their confidence back.

If I were Magpies boss Steve McClaren, I would be a bit more pragmatic with the players at my disposal and try to make things a bit simpler for them - like Sam Allardyce has done since taking charge at Sunderland.

The Black Cats have certainly not played pretty football since Allardyce arrived but they have looked so well organised and shown they are willing to fight for points.

Read more from Danny here.

In contrast, Newcastle's home form has not been at all good. A bizarre 6-2 thrashing of Norwich looks like a freak result, and Steve McClaren's men have not won in their other six league games at St James' Park.

And last time out they were absolutely tonked at Crystal Palace. Goals in this game?

To the annoyance of tabloid subs across the land, Klopp may not have quite cracked playing in front of the Kop just yet, but Liverpool's recent away form has been absolutely superb.

Image source, AP

Southampton (a): W 6-1

Man City (a): W 4-1

Rubin Kazan (a): W 1-0

Chelsea (a): W 3-1

We will have team news from this afternoon's game around the 15:00 GMT mark, but they won't have much on the sides from that famous game in 1996.

No wonder there were seven goals. Just look at the attacking players on display!

Image source, BBC Sport

Apologies to any Newcastle fans who get a twinge of nostalgia at this side. Sir Les, Tino, Ginola and Peter Beardley in one team - and then they bought Alan Shearer!

I doubt Aleksandar Mitrovic would get a look-in.

It is 19 years since Newcastle and Liverpool served up arguably the greatest game in Premier League history.

Stan Collymore's stoppage-time winner at Anfield gave the Reds a 4-3 win,, external and the sides served up a repeat the following year, when Robbie Fowler hit the winner in another 4-3 classic.

Image source, PA

Twice in two years? 

Of course, TV companies have spent the last 18 years searching for a repeat, and in truth they haven't got anywhere near.

But with Jurgen Klopp getting Liverpool fans excited again, and Steve McClaren's Newcastle, er, shipping lots of goals, perhaps this is the year...

Right?

Welcome to our live page for Newcastle v Liverpool. We’ll have text commentary and Radio 5 live commentary here from 15:00 GMT.