LIVERPOOL VS NEWCASTLE PREVIEW & PREDICTION
Liverpool takes on Saturday night against Newcastle United. Last weekend, West Ham United was swept away at Anfield 4-1 and this week Liverpool hopes to achieve an equivalent result when Newcastle United comes to visit.
Liverpool :
The Liverpool of Jürgen Klopp does the last matches fine. In February, Liverpool lost no game and four of the last five games that Liverpool played ended in a victory for Klopp and his team. Only when Tottenham Hotspur (2-2) visited the Premier League, Liverpool lost points, but playing against Tottenham is no shame. The Reds are also neat in the Premier League with a third place and still have a two-point lead on Tottenham Hotspur and number five Chelsea has four points behind on The Reds.
Last weekend, Liverpool won 4-1 against West Ham United and that victory was also well deserved. Emre Can opened the score on behalf of The Reds after half an hour of play and the attackers Mohamed Salah, Roberto Firminio and Sadio Mané also put their name on the scoreboard against West Ham United. It was for Liverpool the sixteenth consecutive home game in which The Reds did not go down in the Premier League and this season there is no top team from England more visiting Liverpool so the chances are likely that there will still be some home games in which Liverpool remains unbeaten.
The Reds did not lose a single game in the Premier League this season at home. In the FA Cup West Bromwich Albion was 2-3 too strong earlier this season for the formation of Klopp, but you always have such a defeat. Besides Liverpool, only Manchester City lost a game in its own stadium this season in the Premier League, but Manchester City has a lead of no less than fifteen points on the Klopp team. The high number of draws (nine) has largely ensured that Liverpool never really got involved in the ‘fight’ for the national championship this season. The question, of course, is to what extent there has actually been a battle in the Premier League, as leader Manchester City seems unassailable this season.
Newcastle :
Newcastle United is not in the same boat as Liverpool. The Magpies still have to fear relegation after 28 games and they are expected to still have that at Newcastle United over a number of matches. Last season Newcastle United became one point ahead of Brighton & Hove Albion champion in the Championship and the Magpies already knew from the first round that it would be a difficult season. Rafael Benítez and his team scored 29 points this season in the Premier League and with that, The Magpies have a two-point lead over the competitors who have changed penny in the last weeks at the relegation positions.
However, Newcastle United is already four games undefeated in the Premier League. Of those four games, only one was won, but six points from four matches is not that bad for Newcastle. Last weekend, The Magpies seemed to get three points on a visit to AFC Bournemouth, as after 75 minutes of play, Newcastle United was still 0-2 ahead. In the last ten minutes however, The Magpies had to cash in two hits in the Vitalty Stadium and with that, Newcastle United lost two expensive points.
In 1995, Newcastle United last to win at Liverpool’s Anfield, but with only one defeat in the last eight Premier League games, they secretly hoped for a stunt at Newcastle United. The Magpies managed to win Manchester United a few weeks ago in their own stadium, but there was a lot of luck. Every point that Newcastle United manages this weekend is nicely taken care of for Benítez, but next week when Southampton comes to visit St. James’ Park, Newcastle United really has to be there.
PREDICTION: Over 2.5 goals @ 1.42
