Liverpool 2-2 Newcastle United: Barclays Premier League - as it happened

Well, that's all from IBTimes UK's 3pm live blog of the Premier League games.

But don't worry, we all have coverage of the all-important FA Cup quarter-final from Wembley on the way. It promises to be a cracking tie, so be sure to check that out.

GOAL: Aston Villa 2-4 Southampton (Mane)

Predictably false hope for Villa fans, then. Sadio Mane scores a last-minute fourth goal for the Saints to put the gloss on their win.

Full-time: Liverpool 2-2 Newcastle United

A bizarre game at Anfield. Liverpool were by far the better side for the most part, but Rafael Benitez inspired a second-half comeback from his side.

That could be a huge point for the Magpies at the end of the season.

GOAL: Bournemouth 1-4 Chelsea (Hazard)

The much-maligned Eden Hazard has a second against the Cherries and Chelsea have all three points.

There will be three additional minutes at Anfield. Time for one last chance to steal the points, perhaps.

Liverpool and pushing and pushing for a third goal. Jurgen Klopp will be furious with his team if they don't win this.

The Reds looked so accomplished in the first half but have let their lead slip.

GOAL: Aston Villa 2-3 Southampton (Westwood)

Villa are refusing to go down without a fight - for one of the first times this season. Once again, it is Ashley Westwood with the goal.

Can the Villa grab an unlikely third? We're about to find out...

Another change for the Reds, with the impressive Adam Lallana making way for the last few minutes. He is replaced by Sheyi Ojo.

Newcastle are making a change of their own, too...

Sturridge gets his head on a right-sided cross, but the England man's effort is easily saved by the keeper. Newcastle survive but that should act as a warning.

There are just ten minutes left at Anfield, and both sides are looking for that all-important goal. It really could go either way, despite Liverpool controlling the game for the most part.

GOAL: Aston Villa 1-3 Southampton (Tadic)

Dusan Tadic has his second goal of the game at Villa Park and that should secure three points for the Saints.

His goal comes after a nice move between himself and Shane Long, both of whom have enjoyed their day out in the Midlands.

Rafael Benitez is making another switch in a bid for victory. Cisse makes way for Mitrovic, who could make a hero of himself this afternoon. There are 15 minutes left at Anfield.

GOAL: Bournemouth 1-3 Chelsea (Willian)

Willian scores Chelsea's third goal of the afternoon with a neat chip. And that may be enough to seal victory for the west London club.

Jurgen Klopp has seen enough. He decides to make a double change, which means James Milner will go to play at right back.

GOAL: Liverpool 2-2 Newcastle United (Colback)

A huge, huge goal at Anfield!

Andros Townsend makes a cracking break down the right side and crosses the ball towards the edge of the box, where Jack Colback hits it into the net via a deflection.

An incredible turnaround on Merseyside.

It's still 2-1 in all three of the 3pm fixtures in the Premier League. So much could change between now and the full-time whistle.

At Anfield, Newcastle are starting to throw some caution to the wind, applying more pressure on the Liverpool goal than at any other point in the game. A point for the Magpies could be crucial to their survival hopes...

Liverpool have the ball in the net, but it won't count. A good ball is sent over to Firmino in the six-yard box who sweeps it home. Unfortunately for the Brazilian, however, he was fractionally offside.

A good call by the linesman, that.

Newcastle aren't playing any eye-catching football to speak of, but they certainly look dangerous on the break in this second-half.

Liverpool lost their composure for a little while and will, perhaps, be slightly more cautious about throwing men forwards in the closing stages. There's half an hour left at a sun-drenched Anfield.

And now Cisse blows a glorious goalscoring chance! Newcastle launch a blistering counter-attack but a poor touch lets him down at the vital moment.

Cisse was played through on goal - all he needed to do was take a touch and shoot. Sadly for the Magpies, he makes a mess of it, and Liverpool can scramble the ball clear.

It's game-on at Anfield, though.

GOAL: Liverpool 2-1 Newcastle United (Cisse)

Anita puts in a hopeful cross, which Simon Mignolet makes a mess of, and Papiss Cisse has given the Magpies a lifeline with a headed goal at the back post.

That's come from nowhere - and has given Newcastle some hope. All a bit surreal, that.

A change for Newcastle United at the break. Gini Wijnaldum replaces Ayoze Perez for the second half.

We're back under way on Merseyside.

Here's a reminder of the Newcastle bench for the game at Anfield:

Subs: Woodman, Mbabu, Shelvey, Wijnaldum, Aarons, De Jong, Mitrovic

I wonder if Rafael Benitez will be tempted to make any changes... to be honest, I'm struggle to envisage an Istanbul-like comeback from his Magpies team.

Following today's 3pm games, there is the small matter of the FA Cup semi-final between Everton and Manchester United at Wembley.

Team news from that game should filter through shortly and if you wish to follow that crunch clash, you can do so on our live blog.

GOAL: Aston Villa 1-2 Southampton (Westwood)

A glimmer of hope for the Villa faithful? Perhaps. Ashley Westwood gets on the end of a loose ball to cut Saints' lead and give the hosts something to cheer.

Half-time: Liverpool 2-0 Newcastle United

Goals from Daniel Sturridge and Adam Lallana have given Liverpool a deserved lead at the break. There has been a huge gulf in class between these two in the opening 45 minutes and Jurgen Klopp will be after more goals in the second period.

There will be three additional minutes at Anfield, where Liverpool have been dominant since the opening whistle. Can they add a third before the break?

GOAL - Aston Villa 0-2 Southampton (Tadic)

It's going from bad to worse to downright miserable for Villa. On this occasion, Saints' Dusan Tadic is the beneficiary of some more poor defending and he doubles their lead.

GOAL: Bournemouth 1-2 Chelsea (Elphick)

Well, that two-goal lead didn't last long, did it?

Tommy Elphick has cut Chelsea's lead almost from the kick-off. He heads in from close range to make it 2-1.

GOAL: Bournemouth 0-2 Chelsea (Hazard)

Chelsea have a second down on the south coast and it's Eden Hazard with the goal. The Belgian has his first league goal of the season. Amazing, that.

Liverpool have a strong appeal for a penalty waved away. The ball definitely struck Paul Dummett's arm, but I'm not sure he could have got out of the way.

Newcastle survive. But only just.

At the other end, meanwhile, Newcastle have a penalty appeal of their own for a clumsy-looking challenge on Perez - nothing doing on this occasion, either.

Ten minutes to go until half-time and the way this game is heading, Liverpool could rack up a cricket score - they are all over Newcastle.

The likes of Sturridge and Lallana have been terrific in the opening 30-odd minutes.

GOAL: Liverpool 2-0 Newcastle United (Lallana)

Adam Lallana doubles Liverpool's lead with another spectacular goal. The England man - who looks to be right in the mood today - finds the top corner with a lovely curling effort from just outside the box.

The move started down the left side, with Moreno making good ground, but all credit must go to Lallana. That was a glorious finish.

The game has settled into a very clear pattern at Anfield, with Liverpool monopolising the ball and looking for openings in the Newcastle defence.

The Magpies are holding firm for the time being, but it really is nothing more than a survival exercise.

GOAL: Aston Villa 0-1 Southampton (Long)

Championship-bound Aston Villa have fallen behind at home to Southampton. Shane Long has the goal, scoring from close range after a pin-point cross from Ryan Bertrand.

Another long afternoon for Villa fans, perhaps?

Daniel Sturridge spins on the ball outside the area and lets fly from distance. His shot only just evades the crossbar. The Reds striker is clearly intent on making up for lost time, having missed so much of the season through injury.

Firmino is at the centre of a huge goalmouth scramble at Anfield, but the Newcastle defence just about manage to scramble the ball clear.

The hosts have picked up where they left off against Everton, though. A second goal appears a certainty at the moment.

Back at Anfield, meanwhile, and Dejan Lovren is the latest Liverpool player to go down with an injury. He's back on his feet and appears OK to continue, though.

In case you missed the big announcement earlier, the Reds are already without one key centre-back for today's game.

GOAL: Bournemouth 0-1 Chelsea (Pedro)

Cesc plays Pedro through on goal and the Chelsea man clips the ball into the corner. A great start for Guus Hiddink's men down on the coast.

Pedro has scored five goals in his last seven Premier League games.

Newcastle are struggling to string any passes together at the moment, with Liverpool flying into tackles at every chance.

It's pretty much one-way traffic at Anfield, even though the Reds have only created one clear-cut opportunity - Sturridge's goal.

Alberto Moreno has gone down injured. This doesn't look great because it appeared to be something and nothing initially, but he doesn't look happy. Thankfully, he is okay to continue.

As we mentioned before kick-off, Daniel Sturridge has been in tremendous form of late and he looks right up for this game.

The England man has netted seven goals in seven Barclays Premier League starts against Newcastle United. They must be sick of him.

GOAL: Liverpool 1-0 Newcastle United (Sturridge)

Well, that didn't take long, did it!? It took all of 68 seconds, in fact, with Daniel Sturridge turning inside the box and finding the net expertly.

A brilliant start for the Reds and Anfield is bouncing.

'You'll Never Walk Alone' is ringing around Anfield as the teams make their way on to the sun-drenched pitch.

There's a cracking atmosphere for Rafael Benitez's return - and we're under way on Merseyside.

This fixture is, of course, one of the most iconic in the history of the Premier League, especially if you're old enough to remember the classic encounters in the 1990s.

In recent years, however, the Magpies have failed to compete in the games at Anfield. Mind you, their efforts have not been helped by their poor disciplinary record in this fixture.

Just over 15 minutes to go until kick-off at Anfield. The crowd is beginning to build up, with the home fans surely expecting another head-turning performance from their side, following their demolition of Everton in the week.

Today provides Daniel Sturridge with a further opportunity to impress England manager Roy Hodgson ahead of the Euros.

The injury-prone forward will surely be on the plane to France this summer, but a goal-scoring run between now and the end of the season could see him secure a place in the starting line-up, too.

A game against a relegation-threatened side, at Anfield, is likely to provide him with a few goal-scoring opportunities.

The players are out on the field, going through their last-minute preparations. This promises to be a tasty encounter given the attack-minded mentality of Liverpool under Jurgen Klopp and the sub-plot of Rafael Benitez's return.

Liverpool have been in top form of late and have given fans reason to feel optimistic about their European hopes and, looking further ahead, next season.

In addition to Rafael Benitez, another former Red making his return to Anfield this afternoon is Jonjo Shelvey.

The midfielder was one of Newcastle's big-money January signings but, to be honest, has yet to make the expected impact at St James' Park.

He starts this game on the bench, and will be keen to make an impression at some stage, I'm sure.

So, Philippe Coutinho has to make do with a space on the bench for the Reds this afternoon. The Brazilian has been one of Jurgen Klopp's better players this campaign, but is being made to wait his turn.

Despite that, Liverpool still boast a fearsome-looking forward line, with Daniel Sturridge leading the way.

Today is a big day for Rafael Benitez, who is targeting an against-the-odds win against his former club Liverpool.

Newcastle have a dreadful record at Anfield, however, and the Spaniard must know he has an uphill battle on his hands.

Breaking team news:

Liverpool: Mignolet, Randall, Toure, Lovren, Moreno, Stewart, Allen, Milner, Lallana, Firmino, Sturridge

Subs: Ward, Skrtel, Smith, Lucas, Coutinho, Ibe, Ojo

Newcastle: Darlow, Anita, Lascelles, Mbemba, Dummett, Townsend, Tiote, Colback, Sissoko, Perez, Cisse

Subs: Woodman, Mbabu, Shelvey, Wijnaldum, Aarons, De Jong, Mitrovic

Ahead of today's game, Liverpool have announced some big news regarding Mamadou Sakho.

The Anfield club have confirmed they have received a "formal communication" from Uefa that they are investigating a possible anti-doping rule violation.

Although the player is currently not subject to any playing suspension, Liverpool have just confirmed that he will not be available for selection for matches.

What the managers say

Rafael Benitez: "Before the game you always have to think about getting three points. It doesn't matter about the name of the rival.

"Our record against Manchester City was quite negative but we fought with the belief we could get three points. Liverpool will be exactly the same."

What the managers say

Jurgen Klopp: "I like Rafa. We met a few times at UEFA meetings. I really like him. He's a really successful manager and a nice person.

"From my point of view, if somebody wants to celebrate the memories of the Istanbul game, they're very welcome. That's absolutely okay."

Preview

Newcastle come into this tie after a 1-1 draw at the hands of Manchester City at St James' Park. Sergio Aguero gave his side an early lead in the first half before Vurnon Anita equalised after the half hour mark.

The clash on Saturday will see the Magpies manager Rafael Benitez return to Anfield, this time as the away manager.

Preview

Liverpool come into this fixture after a 4-0 victory over Everton in the midweek Premier League clash.

The crushing victory has given the Reds the much needed boost to come into this fixture.

Good afternoon and welcome to IBTimes UK's coverage of this crunch Premier League clash between Liverpool and Newcastle United.

The hosts come into this game in good form, having hammered their Merseyside rivals Everton earlier this week.

For Newcastle, meanwhile, every game is huge between now and the end of the season as they look to beat the drop. Can Rafael Benitez, on his return to Anfield, pull off an unlikely win? We'll find out soon...