At the end of the storm...
Can Newcastle get a result at Anfield?
Ask most Geordie fans that question at the moment and you'd be lucky to escape without getting a punch in the nose.
Basically, Newcastle's dismal run of form has gone from poor, to bad to abysmal and with confidence rock bottom on Tyneside it doesn't look like it's about to change at Anfield.
So will that stop the Toon Army giving their full backing at Anfield?
The answer is an emphatic no.
But while the fans will know deep down that United cannot go on picking up one bad result after another forever, talk from the club's Benton HQ is that confidence is actually higher than people outside of Tyneside think.
The result and circumstances after the 1-0 choker against Blackburn are one thing.
Yet Toon players are thought to now be looking behind the result and more at the performance.
Let's be honest, it was one of Newcastle's best for a while even though United missed a hatful of chances.
Goalkeeping brilliance from Brad Friedel prevented Owen on two occasions and had either chance gone in Newcastle would be going to Anfield on the back of a very different result.
After emptying my head of all the bad memories of Anfield yesterday, I'm not going to turn around and say Newcastle are on the brink of a great result.
But if we are taking little steps, tiny little ones that is, a similar performance to the Blackburn may yet surprise a Liverpool team heading for Inter Milan next week.
It's clutching at straws of course and on the back of a 4-0 hammering of West Ham, Liverpool will be rubbing their hands at the prospect of the perennial whipping of Newcastle.
In terms of KK's selection we know that Joey Barton isn't allowed to set foot into Liverpool and therefore a change in midfield is enforced.
Nicky Butt is likely to start and Keegan must then decide whether to drop back Alan Smith into the vacant slot or give Charles N'Zogbia his recall to the middle of the pitch.
Zoggy was on fire in that position against Stoke when KK returned but it hasn't quite worked out the way we all wanted.
N'Zogbia has been used as a left-back and almost wasted in the position and stands up for the attacking principles of the manager.
Other than that Geremi, who once netted a great goal for Boro at Anfield, is also an option but many fans would prefer N'Zogbia in the middle.
In attack, Keegan has the option to partner Owen with Smith, Carroll or Martins with Viduka and Shola seemingly out of sorts.
Whatever happens, it's going to be emotional.
WHAT TEAM WOULD YOU PICK FOR ANFIELD?
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Lee Ryder - Proudly born and bred on Tyneside, the Chronicle's chief sports writer has followed the fortunes of the club over the last three decades as a Toon fan and football writer.
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Why not play Zog left wing and drop Duff? Duff seems to escape lots of critisicm but he has been terrible since he came back from injury and missed lots of chances. How many goals has Duff scored or set-up since he came compared to Robert and Solano? Hardly any!
Owen is bang on form but on Saturday he had one of them games where he could have played for 24 hours and still not scored. All players have games like that.
It was commendable that he never let his head go down but kept plugging away.
You are probably mad thinking how can he say Owen is on form. Well he has scored in almost every game of late. Many have been disallowed but it is hardly his fault. The goals have been shown time and time again and opinion is universal that they should have counted.
Owen will be hungrier than ever on saturday, and a hungry Owen is bad news for anyone, no matter who they are.
Add to this that it is also against his former team and he will want it to be special.
Keegans ideas are now starting to materialise on the pitch. Chances are starting to come frequently. There is no way in this world Owen will miss them again.
Martins is also back and will want to show Keegan what he is about. That defending isn't his forte but that scoring goals is.
Smith will be dropped so it will be like having 2 extra players on the pitch.
We all knew performances would improve before results and now it is the time for the results.
HARPER BEYE TAYLOR FAYE ENRIQUE MILNER BUTT NZOGBIA DUFF OWEN VIDUKA!
Viduka out of sorts? I can understand Shola being such but Viduka should be ashamed at pay day, what a sack o' lard. Good that Barton's out despite his 3 passes to Owen last week, only hope Smith is dropped for Zog and Emre's out of his sick bed. It's possible that Raffa might field a weaker team to our slight advantage, if we perform like against Blackburn. Here's hoping.
I said it last week and I'll say it again: Martins must play alongside Owen, especially in this game where we'll need to play on the break. We need the pace.