Liverpool started December with a bang by defeating Southampton 6-1 in the Capital One Cup Quarter-finals. Things could get better for Liverpool because they have easy fixtures this month. And Liverpool have their key players back from injury.
Liverpool’s first premier league fixture in December is against the struggling Newcastle at St. James Park. Liverpool now have four consecutive wins in all competitions and they will be looking to make it five in a row. Liverpool are the clear favourites to win this match, but its premier league and you never know.
The biggest highlight of the match is that the managers know themselves before. Most of the managers and clubs in the premier league are new for Jurgen Klopp, but Steve McClaren is not one of them. Klopp’s Borussia Dortmund had faced Steve McClaren’s Wolfsburg in the Bundesliga. The two sides met twice and Klopp’s Dortmund won both of them. Dortmund won their home leg 2-0 and the away leg 3-0. Former Liverpool loanee Nuri Sahin scored for Dortmund in both the matches. It was Klopp who put McClaren’s Job under threat at Wolfsburg and he could do the same to McClaren at Newcastle on Sunday.
Liverpool under Klopp has got a good away record so far. Liverpool thrashed Chelsea, Manchester City and Southampton at their respective home grounds. While Newcastle on the other hand, has been subject to some heavy defeats this season. They lost 6-1 to Manchester City and last week they lost 5-1 to Crystal Palace. They lost 3-0 to both Sunderland and Leicester. Liverpool’s attack could exploit Newcastle’s weak defense. We expect Liverpool’s defense not to concede more than one goal.
Liverpool’s top scorer, Philippe Coutinho, is a doubt for the match even though he returned to training. Liverpool will have Lucas Leiva back. He was unavailable last week in the premier league because of suspension. While Emre Can on the other hand, is suspended for one match for getting five yellow cards. Daniel Sturridge marked his first start under Klopp with a brace, but we expect him to start from the bench on Sunday. Christian Benteke, who turned 25 on Thursday, could start for the Reds instead. We expect Liverpool captain, Jordan Henderson, to get his first start under Klopp on Sunday. And Nathaniel Clyne will return to Liverpool’s start lineup after being rested against the Saints on Wednesday.
Tim Krul is out due to a long-term injury and he will be Newcastle’s biggest loss. They are also without Haidara, Tiote, Steven Taylor, Aarons and Obertan. They lost 5-1 to Crystal Palace, despite playing their best XI. And they will probably play the same XI against Liverpool. Newcastle have a habit of getting a red card every time they face Liverpool. Newcastle has seen six red cards in their past six meetings against Liverpool. Newcastle won the only match in which they didn’t see a red. We could expect a high number of cards in this match too.
Liverpool Predicted Line-Up: Mignolet, Clyne, Skrtel, Lovren, Moreno, Lucas, Milner, Henderson, Firmino, Ibe, Benteke.
Newcastle Predicted Line-Up: Elliot, Janmaat, Coloccini, Mbemba, Dummett, Colback, Anita, Sissoko, Wijnaldum, Perez, Cisse.
Liverpool Key Player – Jordon Ibe
Newcastle Key Player – Wijnaldum
Predicted Score – Newcastle 0 – Liverpool 3
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