Liverpool: 10 Reasons the Reds Must Beat Newcastle United in EPL

Liverpool take on Newcastle United in the Premier League this weekend and need to get back to their winning ways immediately, for all sorts of reasons.

The Reds failed to take a single point from the two relegation-threatened sides they faced last week, QPR and Wigan Athletic. Their dream of landing a Champions League spot in the Premiership at the first time of asking under Kenny Dalglish has all but disappeared.

And with a Europa League spot already in the bag following the Carling Cup victory in March, there is a real danger that the rest of the league season could see the Reds lose focus and even further ground on the teams ahead of them.

Here are 10 reasons why Kenny Dalglish and his players must not allow that to happen and why they must beat Newcastle at St. James' Park on Sunday.

Making Up Ground: Newcastle Are Already 8 Points Ahead of Liverpool

During last week's double-header against relegation-fodder Queens Park Rangers and Wigan Athletic, the Reds somehow managed to extract not a single point. Following that farce, Newcastle United stretched their advantage over Liverpool to a whopping eight points.

Wins at home against Norwich and away to West Brom yielded the maximum return of six points for the Magpies, who could effectively ensure that Liverpool finish no higher than seventh place in the Premier League if they win at St. James' Park on Sunday.

An 11-point overhaul in just the remaining seven fixtures would surely be too much for Kenny Dalglish's inconsistent troops, so an away win in this game is vital to closing the gap and trying to knock Newcastle's confidence heading into the home straight.

The Chasing Pack: Sunderland, Everton, Swansea and Norwich Within a Single Win

Far from looking at catching up with a top-six place in the game against Newcastle, Liverpool could fairly reasonably be looking at entering the game as a complete mid-table non-entity.

Recent results have been bad enough for the Reds that they are merely within a single victory of the reach of Sunderland, Everton and promoted duo Swansea City and Norwich City.

With the blue half of Merseyside due to face West Brom at home and Norwich traveling to inconsistent Fulham both on Saturday, Liverpool face going into their own match against Newcastle on level points with a ninth-placed Norwich City, and behind Everton.

Sunderland travel to Manchester City so they should likely face defeat there, while Swansea play Tottenham away on Sunday after Liverpool's game.

That these four teams are within such easy reach of the Reds at this late stage of the season is cause enough for alarm.

Liverpool simply must start stringing victories together.

Liverpool's Away Form Needs to Continue to Improve After Poor Spell

Earlier in the season as the home draws mounted up at Anfield, Liverpool's away form was seen to be the reason they were still within touching distance of the top four Premier League places.

A recent spate of defeats has put paid to any lingering hopes that the Reds had of that. More importantly, while the home wins are still difficult to come by, Liverpool have also now started losing cheap points away from home.

The last three points the Reds picked up on their travels was away to Wolves at the end of January.

Liverpool have now won more points at home (23) than away (19) despite winning more fixtures away from Anfield.

St. James' Park would be a great place to get the away form back in order.

Re-Build the Momentum Ahead of FA Cup Semifinal

Lest we forget and get bogged down in negativity too much—Liverpool do have a somewhat huge FA Cup semifinal looming on the horizon!

The Reds will face the blues at Wembley in only two weeks. They say form means nothing heading into the derby; however, I'll feel a lot more comfortable about Liverpool's chances heading into the match on the back of wins against Newcastle, Aston Villa and Blackburn than I would if we continue our losing streak.

At the success-or-failure end of the season, momentum is everything.

Final Premier League Placing and the Prize Money Which Accompanies It

The difference between Liverpool finishing sixth in the Premier League and finishing seventh in the Premier League is fairly big.

There is a certain respect afforded to a top-six place—not one that Liverpool particularly want, given their aspirations of being a top-four side—but given the European connotations associated with finishing sixth (even though that place does not necessarily guarantee European participation) it always seems quite a bit higher than seventh.

Not only that, but the prize money for Premier League finishes goes up by around £900,000 per place.

Almost a million quid, or a year's salary for your average Sebastian Coates-type promising young first-teamer, just for finishing a single position higher in the league.

I have a feeling the extra million or two might come in handy in the summer.

Andy Carroll and Jose Enrique Return to Their Old Club

Forty-seven games and eight goals after leaving his boyhood club, Andy Carroll is set to make a return to St. James' Park for the first time since signing for Liverpool.

Alongside him but much less high-profile will be Jose Enrique, who has been a more qualified success since the summer move which brought him from Tyneside to Merseyside.

Say what you want about Carroll, but Liverpool need him to score and create goals for the rest of this season if they are to have success in the FA Cup and improve on their current seventh place position.

Going back to his old club and hearing jeers and taunts are not going to make pleasant memories for the big No. 9, but the only way he will silence them is by playing a key role in a Liverpool win.

Let's hope he's up to the task.

Trigger-Happy Fans Calling for Action Against Dalglish, Comolli and Company

Now isn't the time to get into whether the fans are right or wrong.

The fact is, they are starting to turn on Kenny Dalglish from several corners; this isn't healthy for Liverpool Football Club.

Dalglish and Liverpool need to string some wins together back-to-back to get the confidence flowing again and remind certain people that the Reds are a work in progress and heading in the right direction.

Players Still with Plenty to Prove to the Fans

Much like Kenny Dalglish, there are a few members of the current playing squad who have yet to win over the Kopites in general.

Jordan Henderson has become the face of this group of players, mainly because Charlie Adam has been all but discarded as a not-good-enough and Henderson seems to be in the team more consistently than Stewart Downing.

In any case, Henderson et al. need a big performance against a side punching above their weight at this moment in time.

Whaddaya know? Liverpool play Newcastle at the weekend.

Over to yous, lads.

14 Defeats: The Number Kenny Does NOT Want to Pass

After five defeats in the last six Premier League matches, Liverpool are suddenly looking at the Premier League table with 10 defeats to their name.

While another five defeats from the last eight matches shouldn't be an issue Liverpool have to worry about, they do have to pick up their form quickly to avoid a scenario which would see them rival their worst ever Premier League seasons in terms of defeats.

Not since the formative years of the Premier League have Liverpool lost more than 14 games in a season.

Once they tallied 16 defeats in 1993-94, as well as 15 in 1992-93.

Both campaigns were under Graeme Souness—and Dalglish does not want to preside over a season which rivals the disappointment of that particular term.

Every Game Needs to Be Treated as a Must-Win

Following their Carling Cup victory at Wembley last month, Liverpool should really have built on their success and finished the season strongly.

They still have a chance to do the latter, but they definitely did not manage the former.

The Reds have eight league games left this season, plus an FA Cup semifinal against rivals Everton.

A maximum of 10 matches—and they are all must-win as far as building for next season and being successful this season goes.

Winning a total of around 60 points would be far from a great campaign in the league but should at least guarantee sixth, if not fifth, if Chelsea fail to continue their recent upturn in fortunes.

It would, however, necessitate a massive turnaround in consistency from the Reds.

Ten games, 10 cup finals.

As long as the Reds win the fourth of those and then the eighth, they will end the season with two pieces of silverware.

Winning the first of the 10 would go some way towards ensuring the bread-and-butter of the league is a bit more respectable, too.