After a series of entertaining European fixtures during the week, the Premier League is back with a vengeance this weekend as we gear up for the penultimate set of games. Between tonight (Friday) and Monday night we’re going to see the biggest and best that the top flight of English football has to offer, as they all battle it out for the right to, well, succeed. That means different things to different teams as you can probably imagine, and when it comes to the game we’re going to look at today, the teams involved are certainly in what you could call ‘different positions’.

The fixture in question is Newcastle United vs Liverpool, as we get to see the North put on a show for the world to see. These two clubs have faced off on multiple occasions over the years, and as such, they’ve shared some of the Premier League’s greatest games – alongside many more before the PL era even began. As we’ve alluded to they’re going to be fighting for very different things this weekend in the form of pride and the title, but either way, we’re excited to see what they can produce as the season draws to a close.

This game will mark the battle of Rafa Benitez, as the Spaniard prepares to host the team that he enjoyed so much success with as a manager. When it comes to Newcastle United, however, the goal is simple: play for pride and give the fans something to be excited about for next season. They’ve already been able to register a few memorable wins and moments along the way this season, but for the most part, it feels like this campaign has been nothing more than a building block as Benitez continues to try and assemble a team capable of winning trophies.

Liverpool, on the other hand, have two opportunities remaining to win a trophy this season: but they’re considered to be the underdog in both competitions. They’re on the back foot in their Champions League semi final tie against Barcelona at the moment, whereas in the Premier League, the fate of the title race is out of their hands as they need a favour from elsewhere in order to catch Manchester City. It seems like they’re going to take it down to the final day, as you’d imagine they would, but they still need to get by the Magpies in order to do so.

Newcastle’s last six games have been as unpredictable as you can probably imagine for a team in their situation. They started off with an entertaining 2-2 draw against Bournemouth, before back to back losses against Arsenal and Crystal Palace left their fans feeling a little bit worried. Thankfully they were able to settle those nerves in their following two encounters, as they got back to winning ways against both Leicester and Southampton. They then drew 1-1 with Brighton in their last outing, although you could certainly argue that they should’ve been able to hang on for all three points.

Liverpool, on the other hand, have been as ruthless as they need to be given their circumstances. They won 2-0 against Porto in the first leg of their Champions League quarter final, with a nice 4-1 return leg win to see them through in dominant fashion. They also registered a nice 2-0 triumph over Chelsea in the middle of those two games, before sticking two past Cardiff and five past Huddersfield to keep themselves on track. Earlier this week, though, they were given the biggest reality check they’ve had in quite some time as they lost 3-0 to Barcelona in a game where they failed to take their chances.

It won’t come as much of a surprise to hear that Liverpool have been the more dominant side in this fixture throughout the course of history, as they lead 84-50 in the overall head to head standings with 42 draws. Their first meeting took place way back in November 1893, with their latest going down on Boxing Day of last year. Liverpool wound up tearing through Newcastle with some incredible efficiency, winning the game 4-0. Benitez won’t have forgotten that result, and he’ll be well up for the challenge of spoiling the party for his old side.

Ayoze Perez was forced off of the pitch due to injury against Brighton, and could be replaced by Kenedy in this game as a result. Jamaal Lascelles is set to be assessed before kickoff, whereas Longstaff, Lejeune and Almiron have all been confirmed as official absentees for the visit of Liverpool. Manquillo is expected to keep his spot in the starting XI, and while many neutrals may look at this makeshift team and think they don’t have a chance of securing a result, they’ve certainly got the heart and determination necessary to make something happen.

Naby Keita’s groin problem that he sustained at the Nou Camp is set to keep him out for a month, which could well end up bringing his season to a premature conclusion. Adam Lallana is the only other major injury concern for the Reds, but to be honest, it didn’t seem likely that he would get into the first team for this game anyway. Roberto Firmino was only fit enough to make the bench against Barca, but the good news for the visitors is that he is expected to return to the starting XI in order to give his side a little bit more bite in the middle of the park.

Newcastle vs Liverpool Betting Prediction

This game is going to be tighter than a lot of people think (or, at least, that’s what we’re anticipating) mainly due to the hangover that the Reds are going to have from their trip to Barcelona. Newcastle know how to frustrate teams at home and they know how to keep the game at their own pace, which is exactly the kind of thing that could rattle Jurgen Klopp’s rampant attacking forces. We still think the visitors are going to pick up the three points, though, because the allure of winning the Premier League for the first time is a huge motivator for this team.

We can see a goalless first half on Tyneside, before Liverpool start to really step up the pace in the early stages of the second half. We don’t think they’re going to blow Benitez’s men away from a scoreline point of view, but we definitely can’t imagine it being a ‘close’ game when it comes to who is the dominant side. As we all know the real game of importance is going to be at the Etihad on Monday night, as City attempt to go one step closer towards retaining their title.

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