Kick-off: 2000, 30/12/2020
Stadium: St James’ Park
TV: Amazon Prime
Liverpool dropped points against West Brom last time out and are fancied to take their frustration out on Newcastle.
The defending champions remain top of the table despite conceding a late equaliser against the Baggies, while Newcastle have only picked up one point from their last three games.
The Reds have won four of the last five meetings by more than one goal and the same outcome is fancied again at 4/5 as our opening Newcastle vs Liverpool prediction.
A Look At Newcastle United’s Betting Odds
Newcastle boss Steve Bruce and his players have come in for some heavy criticism from supporters lately, particularly after last week’s frustrating Carabao Cup quarter-final loss to Championship side Brentford.
They are without a win in four games in all competitions – a sequence which also includes a 5-2 hammering by Leeds – but they at least produced a decent performance in the 2-0 Boxing Day loss at Manchester City.
Their problems have not been helped by the spate of Covid-19 infections which have swept through the club this month and their task does not get any easier here.
Bruce said: “When you get two or three of the big ones back to back you would like a week to recover, to make sure you get going again, and we have been pitted against probably the two best teams in the country back to back.
“But bring it on. Let’s get ready for it, let’s recover and see what we can do.
“We know what to expect, we know what is coming. We need to go and perform like we did at City and have a bit more in the final third.
“We’ve got to show the same resilience against a very good Liverpool team.”
It is hard not to fear the worst for the home side and the Reds to win both halves appeals at 8/5 in the Newcastle vs Liverpool odds.
Last Newcastle line-up: Darlow, Clark, Schar, Fernandez, Yedlin, Longstaff, Ritchie, Hayden, Murphy, Almiron, Joelinton.
Jamaal Lascelles and Allan Saint-Maximin are both still feeling the effects of Covid-19 and are out, while Jonjo Shelvey (groin) and Callum Wilson (ankle) will be assessed after neither were risked on Boxing Day.
Joelinton (hip) will hope to to prove his fitness but the game is likely to come too soon for Ryan Fraser (groin). Fabian Schar and Federico Fernandez will also be checked after returning to the side at City, while Jeff Hendrick and Paul Dummett have also been ill.
A Look At Liverpool’s Betting Odds
The biggest hope for Newcastle is that Liverpool’s away form has been far less impressive than their home form this season.
The Reds had a perfect record at Anfield until conceding the late equaliser against West Brom while they have only won two of their seven away games.
The most recent of those though was a 7-0 thrashing of Crystal Palace when the front three of Mo Salah, Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino were all on target.
The trio have been responsible for nine of Liverpool’s last 11 goals and Mane was a thorn in Newcastle’s side last season, scoring a brace at Anfield and a late goal at St James’ Park despite only coming on as a second-half substitute.
Mane can be backed at 13/10 to score in a Liverpool win, and we’ll also back the Senegal star to open the scoring in a 3-0 win at 22/1 to complete our Newcastle vs Liverpool betting tips.
Last Liverpool line-up: Alisson, Robertson, Matip, Alexander-Arnold, Fabinho, Wijnaldum, Henderson, Jones, Firmino, Mane, Salah.
Defender Joel Matip and midfielder Naby Keita will miss the trip. Matip injured his groin against West Brom, a match Keita missed with another muscle problem, so Rhys Williams looks set to deputise.
Additional stats
Last result:
Man City 2-0 NEWCASTLE
LIVERPOOL 1-1 West Brom – Sadio Mane
Head-to-head: Newcastle 1-3 Liverpool, Liverpool 3-1 Newcastle, Newcastle 2-3 Liverpool, Liverpool 4-0 Newcastle, Liverpool 2-0 Newcastle, Newcastle 1-1 Liverpool
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