Alexander Isak absent from squad as Eddie Howe names his Newcastle United team to take on Liverpool at Anfield

Eddie Howe has made his selection and laid out his tactics as Newcastle United look to end 31-years of misery at Anfield by beating Liverpool in the Premier League tonight.

Liverpool have had Newcastle's number for years now with the Magpies last victory over the Reds coming in December 2015 at St James' Park. You have to go back to 1994 for the last time they won at Anfield.

There's an extra layer of spice on tonight's game with the two sides meeting again next month at Wembley in the Carabao Cup final.

So, will Eddie Howe test out his tactics for that game tonight, or will he have another trick up his sleeve for Wembley?

Alexander Isak is missing from the squad entirely

It looks as though Eddie Howe has stuck with his usual 4-3-3 formation after we thought he might move to a back three, but a lot of that thinking did hinge on Sven Botman being available, which he's clearly not.

The most notable absence from the Newcastle squad is of course Alexander Isak who is nowhere to be seen with The Chronicle reporting he picked up a knock in the buildup to the game. Callum Wilson starts the game with just Will Osula on the bench.

Sandro Tonali is reinstated to the starting XI alongside Joe Willock and Bruno Guimaraes as Lewis Miley drops to the bench.

If I wasn't panicking before, I definitely am now.

Liverpool's starting XI looks rock solid

Meanwhile, Liverpool's side looks about as strong as it can get with Mo Salah and Dominik Szoboszlai both in from the start.

Cody Gakpo is on the bench meaning he could come on late on in the game and cause serious damage, as could Darwin Nunez who is absolute pants 99% of the time, only seemingly turning it on when he faces us.

With Alexander Isak, Sven Botman and Joelinton all missing, we can't really call this one a cup final rehearsal as we expect (hope) those three will be available again by then.

Let's just get this over with.