A gruelling run of Liverpool fixtures ends as Newcastle visit Anfield, with the away side experiencing a “feast or famine” season that could go one of two ways.The Reds made a statement on Sunday as they saw off Man City 2-0 at the Etihad and moved 11 points clear at the top of the table, albeit having played once more than Arsenal.Next up is Wednesday’s visit of Newcastle in the Premier League, with Eddie Howe’s side pushing for Champions League qualification.This is the first of two clashes in a month between Liverpool and the Toon, with the Carabao Cup final on March 16 looming large.As the game edges closer, we spoke to Newcastle fan Dave Black (@cm9798) to discuss a big match for both teams and where the key battles will lie. How would you assess Newcastle’s season so far?It’s hard not to be pleased with how things stand at Newcastle; fifth in the league, Carabao Cup final to come and still in the FA Cup.It hasn’t been straightforward, though, and the inconsistency in performances isn’t so much game-to-game as half-to-half.But we have won 13 of our last 16 in all competitions, so we must be doing something right.The game against Nottingham Forest on Sunday was basically a microcosm of our season.Our three defeats in that run to Bournemouth, Fulham and Man City have seen us ship 10 goals, plus the three from Forest on Sunday.It’s been a weird season which has been feast or famine a lot of the time. How are you feeling about the upcoming cup final – confident?Absolutely not!I would love to be one of those fans who always fancies a win, but we aren’t exactly proven winners, to say the least.We couldn’t have a tougher opponent, either, so I’m not expecting our long trophy drought to come to an end in a few weeks. Who have been Newcastle’s best players and who has struggled?I suppose the obvious answer for those who have struggled is Sean Longstaff, who has gone from regular starter to sixth-choice central midfielder.He’s lost his place to Sandro Tonali, who has been superb, whilst Lewis Miley and Joe Willock are ahead of him behind Bruno Guimaraes and Joelinton.Otherwise, with the form being pretty good over the last few months, there hasn’t been loads of squad rotation as those playing have generally done pretty well.Kieran Trippier was brilliant against Arsenal but horrific against Man City – unfortunately, there have been signs for a while now that father time is catching up with him.Nick Pope’s kicking and general distribution were becoming a problem and he got injured just before Christmas, being replaced by Martin Dubravka, who many thought had had his day.He was superb, though, and his run in the team coincided with nine wins in a row, so it was a bit of a surprise when Pope was recalled on Sunday.He didn’t exactly cover himself in glory, so the battle to be No. 1 for the final is very much on. What’s the realistic aim for the season now?Win a cup and qualify for the Champions League. It seems greedy but we’re one game from actually winning something.It looks like top five for the Champions League, but there’s about eight teams in the running for the last three spots, so that is looking like a real scrap.I just hope that if we don’t win the cup final, it doesn’t totally derail our season. At a bare minimum, we need to be playing European football next season. How do you assess Liverpool’s title chances?Well, we blew a 12-point lead once!Seriously, though, nobody has got close to you all season and I can’t see that changing now. I think the only question will be when rather than if. Your favourite and worst Anfield memories…We’ve had so few positive results at Anfield, so this won’t take long.We won a League Cup tie in 1995 when Steve Watson went on a mazy dribble and decided to chip David James from 25 yards – that was unexpected.Sadly, we lost the league game that season rather more famously and I suppose that would have to be my least favourite memory, given what it meant in the wider context.Generally, though, we come to Anfield and get battered year in, year out. Where will the key battles take place on Wednesday?Lewis Hall has been one of our players of the season at left-back, but he’s going to have to be fantastic to keep Mo Salah quiet.We usually use Joelinton in these big games as some extra protection, but he has been injured and not played for a few weeks so it would be a surprise if he’s thrown back in for this one.It’s not all doom and gloom, however, because Alexander Isak gave Virgil van Dijk a tough game at St James’ Park in December, so we will be hoping for more of the same.I think you had Jarell Quansah and Joe Gomez alongside him that night and neither dealt with Anthony Gordon particularly convincingly either, so we’ve got to make the most of any opportunities that come our way.If you could play Quansah instead of Ibrahima Konate, that would be quite helpful! Prediction time…It’s hard to predict anything other than a Liverpool win.I think we’ve got a goal in us, so let’s say 3-1 to the Reds and hopefully we can get our own back in the final in a few weeks.