On Tuesday, it was confirmed that Liverpool had been successful in its appeal against Alexis Mac Allister’s red card in Saturday’s clash with Bournemouth.

Mac Allister was shown a straight red for a challenge on Ryan Christie shortly before the hour mark in the 3-1 victory at Anfield.

Had the decision stood, he would have been unavailable for not only Sunday’s trip to Newcastle, but also the subsequent games against Aston Villa at home and Wolves away.

However, that suspension has now been canceled after Liverpool issued a formal challenge, and the $45m (£35m/€40m) summer signing will be in contention for the fixture at St James’ Park.

Excitingly, the FA’s verdict gives Jürgen Klopp the chance to unleash what may be, as it stands, his strongest line-up.

To begin with the back five, Trent Alexander-Arnold looks set to feature despite hobbling off against Bournemouth with an apparent injury. The right-back, who moves into midfield when Liverpool has possession, was pictured in team training on Tuesday, which bodes well. Alisson, Virgil van Dijk, Ibrahima Konaté and Andy Robertson all look like guaranteed picks alongside him, barring any late issues.

In midfield, Wataru Endo should be ready to make his full debut at the end of what will be his first full week of training. The $21m (£16m/€19m) addition from Stuttgart came off the bench against Bournemouth following Mac Allister’s red card even though he only had one session with his new teammates under his belt, but he now has the opportunity to properly acclimatize. Stefan Bajčetić was among the substitutes last weekend, and some may argue that he should be ahead of Endo in the pecking order, but it seems unlikely that he’ll be cleared to start after missing the whole of pre-season as he recovered from injury.

With Endo lining up alongside Alexander-Arnold in a midfield two, Mac Allister should be able to move forward into the left-sided number eight position. This is the role he was likely bought to play, but he’s been required to fill in as a number six in the Reds’ first two matches because of Fabinho’s departure and injuries to Bajčetić and Thiago. Endo’s arrival should liberate him in that regard.

Dominik Szoboszlai will look to build on a player-of-the-match performance against Bournemouth in the corresponding role on the right.

That just leaves the front three, which is bound to give Klopp selection headaches throughout the season. Cody Gakpo lined up in midfield against Chelsea and Bournemouth, but if Mac Allister moves forward, that frees him up to rejoin the attack. With Mohamed Salah a nailed-on pick on the right, Klopp must choose which two of Gakpo, Diogo Jota, Luis Díaz and Darwin Núñez make up his best front line.

It’s hard to argue that Díaz isn’t part of the Reds’ strongest XI right now after goals in back-to-back games to start the season, while Núñez has the most work to do, having been limited to substitute appearances thus far. In a showdown between Gakpo and Jota for the center-forward position, the former just about edges it because of his superior all-round contribution.

Jota and Núñez would then form part of a strong bench that should also include the likes of Harvey Elliott, Bajčetić and Thiago.

It remains to be seen if Liverpool makes further additions to strengthen its ‘best’ team, but if not, the game against Newcastle will offer us the clearest indication yet of the side’s credentials. Going up against a Champions League outfit who only lost twice at home all of last season (once against the Reds themselves), there will no longer be any excuses.