Eddie Howe hands surprise Newcastle United start to 20-year-old against Liverpool

The Newcastle United midfielder will replace the injured Joe Willock in Eddie Howe’s starting XI at St James's Park. Howe said after last weekend’s 1-1 draw against Bournemouth that Anderson, 20, was “banging on the door” at the club when asked if he was close to his first league start.

“Well, he’s banging on the door, and he’s doing what he needs to do,” said United’s head coach told NUFC TV. “Every time he enters the pitch, he has to give his all and show his quality. I thought he did today. I thought he got in some really good positions. He was diligent with his defensive work, which is so important, and I was very pleased with him.”

Otherwise, Howe has named an unchanged team for the televised game.

Callum Wilson – who missed the Bournemouth game with a hamstring injury – is on the bench ahead of next weekend’s Carabao Cup final against Manchester United.

Speaking yesterday, Howe said: “Callum’s done really well. As we said at the time, it was a very minor complaint. He hasn’t trained yet. We hope that he trains today, and then he’s in contention.”

Newcastle are fourth in the Premier League table, while Liverpool are in ninth place.

NEWCASTLE UNITED: Pope, Trippier, Schar, Botman, Burn, Anderson, Longstaff, Joelinton, Almiron, Isak, Saint-Maximin. Subs: Dubravka, Dummett, Lascelles, Gordon, Wilson, Ritchie, Lewis, Manquillo, Murphy.

LIVERPOOL: Alisson; Alexander-Arnold, Gomez, Van Dijk, Robertson; Bajcetic, Fabinho, Henderson; Salah, Nunez, Gakpo.