The best defender of the league is facing the top striker this season this season

The football author Adrian Clarke identifies the most important players, the team tactics and the games won in Matchweek 27.

Player analysis: Alexander Isak (Newcastle) and Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool)

Newcastle United often reserves her best performance for the big occasion.

In all competitions you have already defeated Arsenal (three times), Chelsea, Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur this season and at the same time picked up against Manchester City and Liverpool.

Eddie Howe has set up his team in a physical, medium to low block in all these games and sacrificed most of the property in a counterattack formula that regularly disturbs the river.

Can he repeat this tactic and end Liverpool’s 23-game fellow draft run on Wednesday evening?

With a top four place that is now in sight and an EFL Cup final against Arne Slot’s team, Newcastle will have no motivation to win at Anfield.

Key Duel: Isak against van Dijk

The best striker of the Premier League this season will take over the experienced central defender of the division in Angeld and promises an elite battlefield that you cannot look like.

With 19 goals to his name in the top class, Isak is in the form of his life.

If you examine his records compared to other middle this season, without the not to be repaired Mohamed Salah’s Red Red Salah, it is no question that ISAK was the top performer.

The Swede was exceptional and reached a destination every 104.21 minutes.

Minutes per gate compared 24/25

Even if you bring in 25-goal superstar Salah in the conversation, Isak’s finishing skills are still the best out of the heap.

His 69.39 percent of shooting accuracy leads over the ranking of all 19 players who have scored at least eight goals.

And with regard to the successful conversion of great opportunities, there is no other Premier League player who was clinical than Newcastles Talisman in 2024/25.

Isak is very fatal and finds the back of the network with 60 percent of these options.

Best big chance converter 24/25*

*At least 15 great chances

But if someone can handle Isak now, it would be Van Dijk who enjoyed another exemplary campaign in the heart of Liverpool’s Back Four.

The 33-year-old shows no age sign and did not make a single mistake this season that led to a shot or a goal.

Since his return from a torn ACL in October 2020, van Dijk has been the best defender of the division at a distance.

In the last four campaigns among the group of 77 central defenders who have completed at least 3,000 minutes of action, Liverpool captain has the best statistics.

Van Dijk confirms his status as a top defender and is the way during this period with the highest success rate in both duels and air duels.

Where van Dijk’s defense statistics manage around the clock

*Among the PL interior defenders who have played at least 3,000 minutes

It is often overlooked, but van Dijk only makes very few fouls and helps Liverpool to avoid an excessive number of freep pieces to defend them.

He is only over once all five games, which means that he is still one of the toughest defenders to move in 1V1.

Isak could not be more confident if he scored two goals at the weekend and has recently played out Arsenal in the past two months.

It will not be easy to repeat this dominance against van Dijk.

How can Isak van Dijk cause problems

Isak is not affected by the challenge because he scored three goals in five appearances against Liverpool in the Premier League.

In one of the games in which he did not score a goal, Isak pulled a foul by van Dijk, in which the latter presented a straight red card.

Van Dijk’s red card against Isak

The movement of Isak has the potential to annoy van Dijk because the Swede always tries to run down the defender’s side.

Isak is a master who drifted back from harmless offside positions to offer himself from balls by the Newcastle teammates.

This led to the side problems of Slot in 3: 3 draw this season when he did this before scored and supported a goal for Anthony Gordon.

Here (below) Isak was initially in one offside position.

He quickly jumped back into a area on Van Dijk’s blind side to get a pass before his brilliant note brought him past the Dutch to create an angle for the shot (below).

If you look back on his support for Gordon’s 62nd minute goal, a similar story developed.

Isak was from the eye line of Liverpool defense when the game was built in front of them, but he then appeared at the last moment to get a pass on the half-turn before he released his own ball (below).

Van Dijk and Ibrahima Konate have to be aware of this trick from Isak, who has achieved Newcastle in Espeit in each of his two appearances.

During his debut in the Premier League, he emphasized after he had inaugurated the defenders into space, and last season, Isak sprinted between the two central defenders from Deep to run on one round.

His threat from meters and transitions is huge.

About the day of optimism

The 2: 0 in the Emirates stage in the EFL Cup semi-final will believe in Newcastle that they can also prevail at ANFIELD.

Home Advantage seems to have decreased in the Premier League this season, with 36 percent of all victories coming from the visit page in 2024/25.

This is an increase of 32 percent of the last campaign and 29 percent in the previous year.

Remarkably after the campaign of the weekend, in which seven away teams claimed the victory – currently a perfect home/away balance for gates.

Home Teams V Away Team -Tore achieved in comparison

These figures can encourage Newcastle, and Isak’s level of performance on the street also wants to be in this season.

Ten of the 19 strikes of the Swedes came from St. James’ Park, with Salah, Justin Kluivert and Matheus Cunha, the only other player in double -digit those who were more productive on their travels than at home.

Players with the most away destinations around the clock

Newcastles best chance of causing a surprise against Liverpool at Anfield is to create the opportunities for ISAK within the first half or in front of the hourly market.

Then he is in top form and scored 18 of his 19 goals in the first 60 minutes this season.

If you can let Isak beat quickly, Newcastle could record a light dent in the title debt of Liverpool.

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