Newcastle v Liverpool- Preview, Predictions, and Best Bets

Newcastle faces Liverpool at St. James’ Park in the early kickoff in the Premier League on Saturday. The Magpies are in superb form with six successive wins on their turf and no defeats in 2022. They face a Reds side chasing the quadruple and needing nothing less than three points in this match. Jurgen Klopp’s side are 10 matches unbeaten against Newcastle and won the reverse fixture 3-1 in December.

Newcastle Form

The form of Newcastle of Eddie Howe since late January is nothing short of superb. The side have won 10 of their 14 league matches with four wins on the bounce right now. At home, it’s six victories in a row and no losses since Man City in mid-December.

A run of six wins in seven matches (with one draw) took the side to the brink of survival. Three losses in a row followed as they conceded very late in 1-0 defeats at Chelsea and Everton in matches where they deserved a draw. A 5-1 thrashing at Tottenham followed but Howe’s side have since won four in a row. The fixtures were favourable as Wolves (1-0), Leicester (2-1), and Crystal Palace (1-0) were taken care of at home, before a 3-0 win at Norwich.

Newcastle Team News

There are a few injuries to deal with, many of which are long-term. Callum Wilson, Jamal Lewis, and Isaac Hayden have been out for a while. Kieran Trippier remains absent and Ryan Fraser recently damaged his thigh muscle.

Eddie Howe dropped target man Chris Wood at Norwich, instead of using Joelinton up front, where he netted two goals. Jonjo Shelvey is another was who left out at Carrow Road but he has more chance of starting than Wood. Jacob Murphy could start down the right whilst Sean Longstaff could anchor the midfield.

Newcastle Motivation

Confidence and motivation appear to be high. The club have been safe for a few weeks but have not taken its eye off the ball. They will want to take points off Liverpool and extend their unbeaten run.

Newcastle are expected to be quite defensive, as they were against Chelsea not so long ago. Howe may even be tempted to switch to a back five. A draw would be seen as a very fine result.

Liverpool Form

The Reds are in sensational form. Their last 24 matches have 21 wins as they lifted the Carabao Cup, put one foot in the Champions League final, made it to the FA Cup final, and closed the gap to Man City to just one point in the league. The quadruple is not out of the question with the way they are playing.

After twice coming from behind to draw 2-2 at Man City, Liverpool rested numerous players in a 3-3 home draw with Benfica having won the first leg 3-1 a week earlier. They then beat a depleted, fatigued Man City 3-2 in the FA Cup semi-final before humiliating Man Utd 4-0 in a mercy killing which could have been by a bigger margin had they so desired. 2-0 wins against Everton and Villarreal followed at Anfield; the latter result giving the Reds a strong first-leg lead.

Liverpool Team News

Klopp doubts Curtis Jones and Konstantinos Tsimikas although neither was expected to start. Roberto Firmino is another who is likely to be absent. The German coach will go close to his best team with just a little rotation.

Joel Matip could come in as a partner for Virgil Van Dijk. Diogo Jota also looks like a certain starter with Luis Diaz perhaps demoted to the bench. In midfield, Naby Keita could be selected to freshen things up a bit.

Liverpool Motivation

This is yet another must-win match. Anything but three points would be a very poor result in their attempts to win the league title.

Klopp took off some key players for short rests against Villarreal ahead of this one and is expected to go with his best XI and attack from the start.

Key Stats

Newcastle have won 4 home PL matches in a row

Newcastle have lost 1 of their last 12 home PL matches

NUFC have seen under 2.5 goals in 5 of their last 8 home PL matches

Liverpool have won 12 of their last 13 PL matches (one draw)

LFC have won 21 of their last 24 matches (all comps)

Liverpool are 10 matches unbeaten against Newcastle

Liverpool have kept 7 clean sheets in their last 8 PL matches

Verdict

The hosts will provide a test for Liverpool because of their fine form and a strong home record of late. However, the Reds look rock solid at the back and need a win desperately – their motivation may be slightly higher. It’s impossible to look past an away win but finding value won’t be easy.

Best Bet: Liverpool win (-1 spread) at 2.15
Value Bet: Liverpool to win to zero at 2.35
Correct Score Tip: Newcastle 0-2 Liverpool at 6.75
Goalscorer Tip: Salah to score 2 or more goals at 6.00

James O'Connor

James is a football analyst who writes about the tactics of the PSL and English Premier League. He holds the UEFA A coaching licence and has previously worked for several clubs in analysis roles.Twitter: https://twitter.com/footy_analysis