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.<\/p>\n
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 Konat\u00e9 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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Read More: <\/strong>The Top 5 Football Kits Of The 2023-2024 Premier League Season<\/a><\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n Unsurprisingly, superstar Mohamed Salah starts on the right wing. Luis D\u00edaz has started on the left with Darwin N\u00fa\u00f1ez up front, but Cody Gakpo has occasionally replaced either of the two.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n On Boxing Day, Liverpool comfortably beat Burnley 2-0 at Turf Moor. N\u00fa\u00f1ez opened the scoring within six minutes.\u00a0In 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.<\/p>\n Read More: <\/strong>\u2018Involved in the Poker\u2019: Liverpool Ready to Battle Bayern Munich and Chelsea for \u2018Brilliant\u2019 Player<\/a><\/p>\n Part of this rejuvenated performance may be attributed to J\u00fcrgen Klopp\u2019s decision to start Elliott for just the second time in the league this season.<\/p>\n The youngster\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n 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 D\u00edaz through on goal, but Trafford came up with another fantastic save to deny him.<\/p>\n Read More: <\/strong>Liverpool Eyeing Potential Move For \u00a325 Million \u2018Defensive Rock\u2019 To Replace Injured Joel Matip<\/a><\/p>\n Gakpo, who started over the recovering D\u00edaz, was impressive on the left of N\u00fa\u00f1ez.\u00a0The 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.<\/p>\n This was a convincing performance, after weeks of fairly tame but serviceable displays against inferior opposition.<\/p>\n Klopp revealed some significant injury news in a press conference<\/a> before this weekend’s Premier League football. Most notably,\u00a0Alexis 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”.<\/p>\n Videos show<\/a> 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.<\/p>\nLiverpool\u2019s Recent Form and Tactics<\/h3>\n
Liverpool Injuries to Consider<\/h3>\n