Liverpool host Newcastle United on New Years Day, with the Reds eager to capitalise on Arsenal’s loss to Fulham on Sunday. A win for Jurgen Klopp’s side would put them three points clear of second-place Aston Villa. The match will be the first Premier League fixture of 2024 and will take place at Anfield Stadium. This is our Liverpool predicted lineup and the latest team news.
Liverpool Predicted Lineup vs Newcastle United In New Year’s Day Clash
How Liverpool Have Lined-up Recently
Alisson Becker has started in goal behind Trent Alexander-Arnold at right-back and Virgil van Dijk, at centre-back, all three have been staples in the side for years. Ibrahima Konaté and Jarell Quansah have battled to start alongside the Dutchman. Joe Gomez has played at left-back in the absence of Andy Robertson, who is expected to be sidelined for another month.
Kostas Tsimikas had been in competition with Gomez, however, a collarbone injury from their December 1-1 draw with Arsenal has ruled him out for the foreseeable future.
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Wataru Endo seems to have cemented his position as a defensive midfielder. Dominik Szoboszlai and Ryan Gravenberch have been starting in the central midfield positions, although Curtis Jones and Harvey Elliott have both seen minutes there and turned in impressive displays. Alexis Mac Allister has been out with an injury since early September, placing even more emphasis on the young academy graduates.
Unsurprisingly, superstar Mohamed Salah starts on the right wing. Luis Díaz has started on the left with Darwin Núñez up front, but Cody Gakpo has occasionally replaced either of the two.
Liverpool’s Recent Form and Tactics
On Boxing Day, Liverpool comfortably beat Burnley 2-0 at Turf Moor. Núñez opened the scoring within six minutes. In the first half alone, James Trafford was forced into seven saves, facing an xGOT of 1.84. The England U21 keeper’s excellent display denied Klopp’s side a much larger margin of victory.
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Part of this rejuvenated performance may be attributed to Jürgen Klopp’s decision to start Elliott for just the second time in the league this season.
The youngster’s tendency to drive with the ball and occasionally shoot forced an early save within five minutes, and saw him create two chances in the first half. Drifting out to the right frequently also allowed Salah to drift central, having three shots from inside the box.
Despite being less dominant in the second half, Liverpool had an xGOT of 1.52. Alexander-Arnold, one of the most in-form players in the Premier League, played a stunning lofted ball to set Díaz through on goal, but Trafford came up with another fantastic save to deny him.
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Gakpo, who started over the recovering Díaz, was impressive on the left of Núñez. The duo linked up on numerous occasions, including the first goal: the former played a great through ball down the line for Gakpo, who pulled the ball back to set up an easy finish for Uruguyuan.
This was a convincing performance, after weeks of fairly tame but serviceable displays against inferior opposition.
Liverpool Injuries to Consider
Klopp revealed some significant injury news in a press conference before this weekend’s Premier League football. Most notably, Alexis Mac Allister is close to a full return. On Friday morning (December 29), Klopp explained: “We will see what he can do today – if he can step into team training or not”.
Videos show that the Argentine did train with the team. With Endo leaving for Japan duty in the Asia Cup this month, Mac Allister’s imminent return will comfort fans.
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Andy Robertson is “still not even close to team training”. This will worry fans as Tsimikas’ broken collarbone will rule him out for the long term, leaving Joe Gomez as the only viable option on the left of defence.
The German manager also revealed that this January could see some returns: “I think Thiago [Alcântara] will be at one point in team training”. When asked about Stefan Bajčetić, he was vague: “We just have to be careful”. Joël Matip is expected to be out for the rest of the season.
Liverpool Predicted Lineup
GK: Alisson Becker
LB: Joe Gomez
CB: Virgil van Dijk
CB: Ibrahima Konaté
RB: Trent Alexander-Arnold
CM: Harvey Elliott
DM: Wataru Endo
CM: Dominik Szoboszlai
LW: Luis Díaz
ST: Diogo Jota
RW: Mohamed Salah
