Liverpool vs Newcastle United

Premier League title-bidders Liverpool and relegation-threatened Newcastle United will trade tackles at Anfield in contrasting circumstances.

Mohamed Salah’s converted spot-kick made the difference as Liverpool squeezed past Aston Villa 1-0 at the weekend to stretch their winning streak in the Premier League to five. After back-to-back 2-2 draws with Manchester City and Brighton in October, the ‘Reds’ have won three consecutive Premier League home fixtures by an aggregate score of 9-0, as they remain the only Premier League side yet to lose a home game this season (W5, D3). The Merseyside giants are in a prime position to keep that record going against a Newcastle side they’ve not lost to in any of their last 25 top-flight H2Hs as hosts (W20, D5). Another victory here would see Liverpool set an unprecedented feat in English top-tier football as they could become the first side to win 1500 top-flight matches.

Unfortunately for Newcastle United, their embarrassing start to this Premier League campaign suggests they could be powerless to stop that from happening. A 1-0 win over fellow relegation strugglers Burnley a fortnight ago already looks like a fluke, as that remains Newcastle’s solitary league success this season (D8, L7). Yet, despite their disastrous start to the season, the ‘Magpies’ are only three points adrift of safety. Eddie Howe’s men are one of just two Premier League sides yet to win a top-flight fixture away from home this term (D3, L5), netting a league second-low five away goals in the process. It goes from bad to worse for Newcastle, as they’ve picked up just two victories across their last 14 midweek Premier League clashes (D4, L8).