'Stop Cabaye and we have a chance'
Mike Marsh believes Liverpool have every chance of taking three points when they visit Newcastle at teatime on Saturday – provided they prevent midfielder Yohan Cabaye from impacting on the match.
The Frenchman, who joined the Magpies from Lille in the summer of 2011, was the goalscorer when Alan Pardew's outfit secured a 1-1 draw with the Reds at Anfield earlier in the campaign.
Along with compatriot Hatem Ben Arfa, another of 10 French players in the Newcastle squad, Marsh picked out Cabaye as the major threat among the home ranks ahead of the weekend clash.
"We know they've got good players all over the pitch but, personally, I'm looking at Yohan Cabaye," the first-team coach told Liverpoolfc.com.
"He makes things tick for them - if we can manage to keep hold of him and Ben Arfa, I think we'll have a fair chance of winning the game.
"They have invested heavily in that market; they have got a guy out in France who knows that market well and seems to pick players up at reasonable prices. Good luck to them, that's the way they want to go and I hope it works out for them."
After claiming a surprise fifth-place finish in 2011-12, Newcastle have found themselves nearer the bottom of the Barclays Premier League this time around.
The Magpies are currently 16th in the standings, having lost 50 per cent of their fixtures to date, but Marsh is anticipating a difficult encounter at St James' Park nonetheless.
He added: "It will be a really difficult game, as it always is at St James' Park.
"They're a really strong side, they have invested heavily in the transfer window and had a few positive results of late. We're looking at a difficult game.
"They were in the Europa League this year, which we know is a difficult league to compete in. There are games on Thursday evening in Russia, you fly back and play away in the Premier League on a Sunday.
"It can take its toll if you haven't got the biggest squad and obviously that's what's happened at Newcastle.
"We approach every fixture the same - we're really looking forward to the fixture. I think we're playing well at the minute and we go there in good form."
The form guide shows three consecutive draws for Brendan Rodgers' men, with the dramatic 2-2 against Chelsea following goalless stalemates with West Ham and Reading.
"It was a pretty even game in the first half; both sides almost cancelled each other out," said Marsh when asked about last Sunday's clash.
"Chelsea scored from a set-piece and went into the half-time break winning 1-0. The message from the manager was that we needed to be a little bit more positive, we were playing at home and could we take the game to them a bit more?
"The players obviously took that message on board - I think we dominated the second period.
"We conceded a penalty but we scored two really good goals, might have scored a couple more and we were unfortunate not to win the game in the end - even though we were happy with a point, scoring so late on.
"If you score in the 97th minute and you're getting beat 2-1, you're delighted to come away with a positive result - you've got something out of the game, even though it's only a point.
"But looking back on the game, the way we played in the second half, I think we possibly deserved all three.
"Only the Arsenal game at home we haven't played at our best against the top four teams. In all of the other games, we've more than matched the teams that are in and around above us. It gives us a lot of hope for the future."
With just four league fixtures remaining before the 2012-13 season concludes for Liverpool, Marsh insisted there will be no slowing down from the Reds during the final stretch.
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The coach said: "We want to finish as high as possible, whether that's above Everton or not.
"It would be a bonus if we do finish above Everton but we've got four games left, we need to try to pick maximum points up. If that means we finish above Everton, it's all well and good.
"We're always looking to improve. We're not going into games and throwing three points away, whether we're playing the last four games or the first four games.
"Every game we play we go into it trying 100 per cent and not taking any of them as a friendly."