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Liverpool face must-win clash with improved Newcastle side to edge closer to top four
Liverpool to win 2-0
Tournament: Premier League 2020-2021 | Venue: Anfield, Liverpool, Anfield
Bet NowLiverpool are one of several teams who could finish this season among the Premier League’s top four, with Chelsea, West Ham and Tottenham in with a shout.
Over the past few weeks, these sides have all swapped positions, one week sitting pretty in 4th before someone else takes their place. There’s no guarantee for any of them where they’ll finish right now.
For Liverpool, their form has at least improved since earlier in the year where they had that disastrous spell of losing form. As last season’s champions, with six games remaining, they’ll fancy their chances of pipping the rest.
Newcastle may just have saved themselves this season, after pulling together an unlikely patch of form which has included two wins and a draw from their last three games.
Recently level on points with 18th placed Fulham, they are now a more comfortable eight points ahead.
Form Guide (all comps): WLWDD
Reasons to be cheerful:
Haven’t lost at home to Newcastle in 27 years
A slightly kinder fixture schedule on the horizon
Reasons to be fearful:
Could concede the first goal in eight successive league games
Have dropped 13 points from winning positions this season
Unfortunately for Liverpool, they are getting their season back on track too late to mount a challenge for the title, and potentially too late to qualify for the Champions League next season.
They’ve won three and drawn one of their last four matches, although they did drop out of the Champions League recently at the hands of Real Madrid.
This form has pushed them back into contention for the top four, and many people would say that they are favourites to claim it, despite stern pressure from teams around them.
Klopp’s men face Manchester United next weekend, but after that it’s Southampton, West Brom, Burnley and Crystal Palace – four very winnable fixtures.
Here, they are likely to keep the same team which drew against Leeds last week.
Star Man – Trent Alexander-Arnold
The right back has improved from his dip in form recently, with three goal involvements in his last three games.
Form Guide (all comps): DLDWW
Reasons to be cheerful:
Two successive wins has seen them rise to 15th
Earned a draw against Liverpool earlier this season
Reasons to be fearful:
Concerns over fitness of Saint-Maximin
Haven’t won three on the bounce since 2018
Newcastle are not mathematically safe just yet, however with six games to go and a game in hand over 18th place Fulham, you would expect them to have just about enough to get over the line.
Steve Bruce should take credit for improving his squad in order to earn results at the right time of the season, and to extent should owner Mike Ashley for keeping faith with Bruce when most fans wanted him sacked.
Despite this, the chance of continuing that good run here is slim, firstly due to the calibre of opposition and secondly because of their own problem of winning back-to-back football matches.
Should they win here, it would be their third on the bounce – for the first time since 2018 – however, they may have to be without key player Saint-Maximin who suffered a swollen ankle last week.
Star Man – Joelinton
Should Saint-Maximin not be fit enough to play, they will turn to a striker in better form recently, Joelinton, who scored in the win over West Ham.
Liverpool will dominate possession
The Reds are strong favourites
Newcastle can cause a problem or two but can they stop the Reds?
Even if Newcastle’s Saint-Maximin is fit, it’s going to be a tough ask to keep Liverpool quiet at one end and punish them at the other.
Despite that, Liverpool are not the team of last season, and a shock result is always on the cards. Liverpool are strong favourites however.
Liverpool to win 2-0
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