Liverpool vs. Newcastle United Preview

Premier League

Football
Published: 21/12/2011

Liverpool will play their second home game in a matter of days when Newcastle make the visit to Anfield on December 30 and the Kop faithful will be hoping for a repeat of last season’s fixture when Kenny Dalgleish’s men strolled to a comfortable 3-0 success.

That result came as sweet revenge for Pool who were turned over earlier in the campaign 3-1 at St James’s Park and once again this season the two teams are set to do battle with only two points separating the clubs heading into the Christmas period. Interestingly, this fixture has never been short of goals and more of the same could be in store for a post-Christmas goal fest.

Many hark back to the epic encounter between the two sides in 1996 when Liverpool fought back to claim a stunning 4-3 victory and subsequently deal a massive blow to the Geordies title hopes.

Since then, the trend has largely continued in Liverpool’s favour and the Reds have indeed managed to get the better of Newcastle in straightforward fashion the last six times the clubs have met at Anfield.

Liverpool do not look quite so comfortable or confident at home this season after a string of disappointing results and dropped points – so this game may have all the ingredients to spark things back into life and provide the home supporters with something to genuinely get excited about.

It is of course a results game but the Kop are longing for entertaining, free flowing football once more and Liverpool may just get their way in this fixture considering the attacking nature of the visitors.

Newcastle’s resolve and determination is arguably not quite what it was at the beginning of the campaign and Dutch ace Tim Krul is becoming increasingly exposed and relied upon between the Toon posts.

Luis Suarez will miss the match due to his racism ban which means that former Newcastle striker Andy Carroll looks set to take on the responsibility against his old club.

The pressure may well be on from both sets of fans as he aims to start justifying his £35 million transfer fee although the Newcastle faithful are no longer complaining about his sale due to the form of their new hit sensation Demba Ba.

Liverpool have to be favoured due to their tough consistency at home and their solid back line which will make it difficult for Newcastle to get in behind and create major chances.

Dalgleish’s side have flopped upfront against teams which they would have been expected to net against so it is perhaps worth waiting to see whether they can brush Blackburn aside on Boxing Day before taking a punt on this one. But assuming that Liverpool can deliver the goods against Rovers, the 1/2 on offer to complete a quick-fire home double certainly looks rather promising.

There is a slight feeling that after all the furore of starting the first twelve games of the season unbeaten, Newcastle may be in the midst of a significant downturn so there is not a great deal to suggest that they will be good enough to take this.

Should Blackburn disappoint the Reds on Boxing Day however and Newcastle manage to get back to winning ways at Bolton, the 15/2 on offer for a Geordie triumph may start to look a little more feasible.

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Any odds displayed within this article were correct at the time of publishing (21/12/2011) but are subject to change.

21/12/2011     © Frixo 2024

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