MatchThe opposition lowdown: Newcastle United
Recent form
Newcastle have totalled 19 points from their opening 13 games in the Premier League this term, including seven from the last 12 available.
They had to settle for a 1-1 draw away at Crystal Palace last Saturday, however, as the hosts scored a 94th-minute equaliser.
Eddie Howe’s side have won three of their six home fixtures in the top flight so far, including a 2-1 defeat of Tottenham Hotspur and a 1-0 success over Arsenal.
They sit in 11th place in the table.
Key players
Harvey Barnes and Alexander Isak are the leading scorers for Newcastle in the league with four goals apiece, while the latter and Jacob Murphy top the team’s assist chart with two each.
Coming into this matchweek, only three goalkeepers in the division had made more saves than Nick Pope’s 48, keeping three clean sheets along the way.
Lewis Hall has had the most touches of any Newcastle player in the league – 912.
Past meetings
The Magpies’ last victory over the Reds was a 2-0 result on Tyneside in December 2015, with Liverpool winning 11 of the 15 clashes since.
In 2023-24, the visitors won 2-1 at St. James’ Park in dramatic fashion. Anthony Gordon scored for Newcastle and Virgil van Dijk was sent off during the first half, but Darwin Nunez came off the bench to convert two finishes late on.
When they met again at Anfield, six second-half goals were netted, with Mohamed Salah (two), Curtis Jones and Cody Gakpo giving Liverpool a 4-2 result.
What they said
Newcastle boss Howe
“Let’s hope not, I don’t think so [that the results of previous meetings can have a psychological effect]. Certainly from my viewpoint I don’t prepare the game that way, I prepare the game to try to win, with a fresh set of eyes every time you play an opponent. Because teams change and evolve every time you play them.
“I think the games we’ve had against them have been tight, especially the home games. They have been really difficult losses for us to take – the last one was a painful one, that we remember from last year. But I think every time you play an opponent like Liverpool you learn new things. I think it’ll be a great occasion, we love playing under the lights at St. James’ Park. I’m sure it’ll be a great atmosphere and we need to create that to make it as uncomfortable as we can for them.”
Magpies striker Isak
“I feel like we are a team that can beat any team. But we want to be a team that are always at the same level. I definitely feel like we have the quality to win these types of games, especially playing at home. We’ve done that many times. But I think every game lives its own life and I think it’s going to be a good battle. We feel good, we feel motivated to get out of this kind of form. I wouldn’t say bad form, because before the international break we had a good run of wins, so I wouldn’t say bad form. But yeah, get back to winning ways.”
Team news
Newcastle are checking on Isak’s fitness after he was forced off last weekend, with Howe explaining on Tuesday: “Alex took a knock to his hip. We haven’t seen him in training yet, but we don’t think it’s a long-term injury.”
Sven Botman, Emil Krafth and Jamal Lascelles are sidelined.
Stats
- Howe’s charges have scored in 23 of their last 25 league outings at St. James’ Park, with the two failures coming in their last three on Tyneside.
- Newcastle have won 10 and drawn one of the last 11 Premier League games in which they have taken the lead.
- Only Liverpool (three) have conceded fewer league goals on home soil in 2024-25 than Newcastle’s five.
- Howe’s sole managerial win against Liverpool came on this date eight years ago, when his AFC Bournemouth side beat the Reds 4-3 at home.
Opposition view
Jordan Cronin, Newcastle United writer at Newcastle World
On Newcastle’s season so far…
Inconsistent, but that’s every Premier League team apart from Liverpool at the moment, isn’t it?! But, also, it’s been an underwhelming start thus far. Without Europe this season, many had hoped Newcastle could reach the heights of 2022-23 when they qualified for the Champions League, but they’ve not looked anywhere near achieving that to date unfortunately.
On Newcastle’s key players…
If there is ever a player that can do damage to any team in world football then it is Isak. Hall has been a real standout this season too, the 20-year-old has really come into his own since completing his big-money move from Chelsea in the summer. He was fully deserving of his England call-up last month. Gordon has largely been out of sorts this season compared to what we have been used to, but I wouldn’t bet against the Merseyside-born winger turning it up.
On Howe’s playing style and whether he has made any changes in his approach…
Historically, Howe has set up his team to outrun and outfight the opposition, and while we’ve seen glimpses of that against the likes of Spurs and Arsenal, it hasn’t been anything close to consistent enough this season. Most opponents now are happy to sit in against Newcastle and let them have the ball. When that happens, Newcastle have tended to struggle to find the answer.
Predicted line-up...
(4-3-3): Nick Pope, Tino Livramento, Fabian Schar, Dan Burn, Lewis Hall; Sandro Tonali, Bruno Guimaraes, Joe Willock; Anthony Gordon, Joelinton, Alexander Isak.