Carroll must prove worth against boyhood team

Two Newcastle old boys will be facing their old club as they travel to Anfield today – and who would have thought that it would be the £5m man who would eclipse his £35m counterpart.

The deadline-day transfer of Andy Carroll stunned the football world, making him the most expensive British footballer in history. The signing of left-back José Enrique was an altogether more low-key affair, the Spanish defender completing his widely-anticipated move last August.

Yet the paths their respective Liverpool careers have taken since could not be more divergent.

Carroll, dogged by injury, claims of off-the-field excesses and the pressure of that mammoth price-tag, has struggled to make an impact at Liverpool.

By contrast, many have praised Enrique as Liverpool’s best player of the season so far, including his former Newcastle manager.

"He has been brilliant,” said Alan Pardew recently. “He has been their best player, and it doesn't surprise me. We were really disappointed to lose him."

The visit of his former teammates now provides a pivotal opportunity for Carroll to reverse this downward trajectory in his career, as the suspension of Luis Saurez provides him with an extended run in the team.

Unsurprisingly, manager Kenny Dalglish has been quick to back his man.

“He is unfortunate in that he attracts a bit of attention to himself from the media,” the Liverpool boss told the onlooking media. “I think someone has a furtive imagination about the lifestyle he leads compared to the one we know he leads – like everyone else he deserves a bit of time off.”

“I think yourselves have a bigger problem with Andy than anyone else. But for us he has come here and gone about his work very well and has adjusted to life at a new club with new philosophies and a new way of playing.”

Of course, nobody could blame him for attempting to boost the confidence of his underperforming striker – but the fact is that, even during Liverpool’s recent goal drought, it has been Dalglish himself who has been giving Carroll more “time off” than he would like.

Reports of an enquiry about Aston Villa finisher Darren Bent could perhaps have been better timed.

With Liverpool without the services of the misfiring yet effective Suarez, Newcastle will travel to Liverpool with a confidence they have not felt in years.

They may not have managed a league win at Anfield since 1994, but they now find themselves just one point behind the Merseysiders, and have something Liverpool lack – an in-form striker. If Demba Ba can continue a run that has seen him score 14 goals in 17 appearances this season, Liverpool fans will fear the worst.

One solution to Liverpool’s recent lack of bite in front of goal could be the possible return of Steven Gerrard, but Dalglish is eager not to rush his captain back into action.

"We know he's fit and we know he just needs game time; in the same way as we monitored him through the last time and we'll do the same this time,” he said.

A more likely alternative source of goals for the Merseysiders could come in the form of Maxi Rodríguez. The reluctance of the Liverpool manager to start the Argentinean, who has netted 11 goals in his last 12 league starts has puzzled fans for some time. His equaliser against Blackburn on St Stephen’s Day will have done his prospects of a rare start no harm at all.

The two teams boast the joint best defensive records in the Premier League, but interestingly, the Magpies have won every league match this season in which they have scored first.

Despite their defensive record, Liverpool have conceded in 78% of their home matches and have drawn the last four.

The pundits may hark back to that legendary 4-3 encounter in 1996, but don’t expect a repeat from their modern-day counterparts.

Swansea, Norwich and Sunderland have all come out of Anfield with a point, and Newcastle have the defensive solidity and goal threat to expect something similar at the very least.

Score Prediction: Liverpool 1 Newcastle 1.