Liverpool manager Kenny Dalglish has not been tempted to try something out of the ordinary in an attempt to rouse his side from their goalscoring slumbers. The Reds have scored just 21 goals in 17 Barclays Premier League matches and that has cost them dear, particularly at Anfield where they have drawn six of nine matches.
Even bottom side Blackburn left with a point on Boxing Day despite having just one shot on target, conceding masses of possession and relying on Charlie Adam to score an own goal to put them in front. They will be tested again at home to Newcastle, but the Reds boss will send out his players with exactly the same instructions as before.
"If you want to be really positive you could say we are undefeated at home but we've said before we don't want to set our standards that low," the Scot said.
"We want to be winning our home games as often as we possibly can and we've certainly given ourselves opportunities to have won every home game.
"We haven't done that but we will keep going and we believe we will do. "I suppose every change you make can be termed drastic; we have changed formations, we've changed players, but the one thing we won't change is our philosophy so we'll keep going with that.
"I am sure confidence plays a huge part in everything that you do so there will be some people more confident in front of goal than others. "But there is nothing a goal for any individual - and the team - wouldn't help. "They have been really strong so far in the fact they have got in there and continue to do so.
"The other night there were 27 chances, which is massive. We'll keep plugging away there. We just need the Kop to blow one in for us or the goalkeeper to throw one in."
They face Newcastle, just a point below them, without striker Luis Suarez as he serves a one-match ban, but are likely to have captain Steven Gerrard in the squad again. Meanwhile, Alan Pardew will travel confident Newcastle have made significant progress since he first went into battle with the Reds.
Pardew stepped into the home dug-out at the then St James' Park for the first time on December 11 last year with the club once again in turmoil in the wake of Chris Hughton's controversial dismissal. The fans were in open revolt after Hughton, the man who had guided the Magpies back to the Barclays Premier League, was summarily dispatched with his side making a fist of life in the top flight and replaced by, in the eyes of the most disgruntled locals at least, a new member of the so-called `Cockney Mafia' in control of the club.
However, the players Pardew had inherited did him proud as they secured a 3-1 victory, and despite a transfer policy which has since seen four of the men who started that day - Andy Carroll, Jose Enrique, Kevin Nolan and Joey Barton - all leave, the curve has been largely upward ever since.
The 50-year-old said: "The biggest progress we have is stability at the football club because the results and the way we have conducted ourselves here at the training ground have suggested that hopefully we can have a period where the manager stays in place and we can build the team.
"We have brought young players to the club - Davide Santon, Haris Vuckic, Hatem Ben Arfa, people like that, young players who we can build on.
"Just as he did in his first match at the helm, Pardew will go into the game with a striker in form and causing people to sit up and take notice. Last year, it was Carroll who marked his rapid development with a superb long-range strike to seal victory with his 10th goal of the campaign. This time around, Carroll will be wearing the red of Liverpool having secured a £35million move just weeks later.
The man who has assumed his mantle in the black and white stripes of Newcastle, free signing Demba Ba, has been a revelation, scoring his 14th goal of the campaign in the 2-0 Boxing Day victory at Bolton which ended a six-game wait for a league win. Pardew, who is bracing himself for the Senegal international's departure on African Nations Cup duty next month, said:
"He's just one of those players who has everything, really, as a striker. "There's not much to his game that he hasn't got, and that stands you in good stead. When any chance comes your way, you are going to have a good armoury to get a goal."
Liverpool V Newcastle - view commentary, squad, and statictics of the game live.
Source: PA
