The opening Premier League game of 2024 takes place on the Monday Night Football as the latest renewal of one of the historical great fixtures in the league is played out when the leaders Liverpool host Newcastle United.
These two sides enter the match in different form. Liverpool have made their way up to the top of the table while Newcastle have slid down it after a pretty alarming run of form. All eyes will be on Anfield to see if the form book rings true or whether there is a twist in the tale.
Where to watch
The match will be shown live and in full on the Monday Night Football programme on the Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Premier League channels. The show begins at 6.30pm and kick off is at 8pm.
Liverpool
The Reds have made their way to the top of the table even though we haven’t really seen the very best of them over the last month or so. They reached the halfway point of the Premier League campaign with just the one defeat to their name and even that was shrouded in controversy away to Tottenham earlier in the season. If there is a reason for critics to call them out it might be that they have drawn almost a third of their games but it is probably better that than losing.
The other question mark over this Liverpool outfit comes in their attack. We are used to seeing them really flourish in front of goal but they have only scored seven goals in their last five matches, two of which have come against the bottom two who have shipped goals at a silly rate this season. I think it is fair to say that Liverpool are a work in progress but they certainly won’t be disappointed with the position they find themselves in heading into the second part of the campaign.
Newcastle United
After a bright start to what promised to be a huge season for Newcastle United, things have taken a bit of a nosedive in the last month or so. They have gone out of the Champions League, lost out in the Carabao Cup on penalties and lost four of their last five matches in the Premier League and have still only won one away game all season, that being that emphatic 8-0 win at Sheffield United. I think it is fair to suggest that they will need a huge improvement on recent efforts to win this one.
Part of the problem Newcastle have had has been the amount of matches they have played in recent times and that has been coupled with a large injury list so the same players have had to go again and again and they’ve looked shattered. It is probably no bad thing that they have had six days since defeat to Nottingham Forest last time out and this one but defensively in particular they have looked a mess for a while and that is definitely a concern.
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Team News
Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp could welcome back Alexis Mac Allister for this match after he has missed the last month with injury. He will be unable to call upon Andy Robertson or Kostas Tsimikas so Joe Gomez will continue at left-back.
Newcastle United are still without a number of players with Jamaal Lascelles the latest to join an injury list which includes the likes of Harvey Barnes and Nick Pope. Joelinton came back from injury on the bench on Boxing Day and could start here.
Betting
The obvious thought process when looking at this match would be to expect Liverpool to dominate it. Newcastle have recently lost on their travels at Bournemouth, Everton and Luton and looked bang ordinary in all of them and I just wonder if they will chance tack a little and look to be harder to beat in this match. The evidence if they look to be expansive or take the game to Liverpool is that they’ll get crushed. They played up the pitch against Luton and but for the woodwork would’ve lost 3-0 so that isn’t a tactic which is going to yield much joy.
I expect Newcastle to sit in a little more and protect the defenders who are struggling and either take a point or claim something on the counter. That should make the game intense and get the crowd into play who will surely roar Liverpool on and I would expect this one to play out a little like the Manchester United game at Anfield did. Usually in that situation I’d be happy to back Liverpool to win but with their attack not firing on all cylinders I’ll side with their corners instead. Both Newcastle full-backs are really struggling right now and so Liverpool should get a lot of joy in the wide areas. Their corners line is 6.5, a number they have covered in six of their nine Premier League games this season, including 12 against Manchester United. If Newcastle do choose to sit in they’ll be happy to concede corners as they have some big boys to deal with them and as wave after wave of Liverpool attacks begin to build I think the home side will cover this corner line with a bit to spare.
Tips
Back Liverpool – Over 6 corners for a 3/10 stake at 1.85 with William Hill
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