Uh oh: Eddie Howe picks bizarre Newcastle United team to take on Liverpool at Anfield

Newcastle United are at Anfield to take on Liverpool this evening. Kick-off is at 8 pm, live on TNT Sports.

We are hoping that the alien nature of an 8pm Saturday kick-off will force a surprise tonight under the lights on Merseyside, as a win for Newcastle would take them above tonight's hosts in the Premier League table.

Of course, Newcastle will have to defy history to do so, having not won in the Premier League at Anfield since 1994.

That is going to be very tricky tonight, especially given the starting lineup Eddie Howe has selected.

What is Eddie Howe thinking?

If there's one thing we can't stand, it's when Eddie Howe plays Anthony Gordon as a striker, but there have been times when it has been necessary to do so. This is not one of those times. Howe has three strikers on the bench today. Why on earth is he playing Gordon through the middle? Gordon, who hasn't scored a goal from open play in the Premier League all season.

Nick Woltemade, Yoane Wissa and Will Osula will start today's game on the bench, and they must be wondering what they've done to upset Eddie Howe so much.

Bruno Guimaraes doesn't make the squad at all today, so his injury is clearly worse than we've been led to believe.

Oh Eddie, I hope you know what you're doing

Sven Botman drops to the bench to be replaced by Dan Burn, who was excellent on Wednesday night, but we just don't see the logic in playing him for two games in a row when the man has just recovered from a punctured lung.

Anthony Elanga, who has delivered less than nothing so far this season, starts on the right. His pace could be a threat for sure, but unless there's a final ball at the end of it, then it's useless.

This was a game where Gordon's pace down the flank would have been a huge advantage given Liverpool's lack of a right-back, and we're not saying Harvey Barnes won't cause problems, but he's not as quick as Gordon is.

We don't to sound defeated before the match has even kicked off, but well ... any shred of confidence we had has well and truly evaporated now. Let's just hope Eddie knows what he's doing and makes us eat our words later on tonight.