Liverpool will host Newcastle United in their Premier League clash at Anfield on New Year’s Day and Jurgen Klopp will be hoping to extend the club’s lead at the top of the table.
The Reds will head into 2024 at the top of the Premier League table after Arsenal suffered a defeat to Fulham this afternoon and there is an opportunity to go even further clear when they host Eddie Howe’s struggling side at Anfield tomorrow.
Newcastle have found themselves falling into troubling form due to ongoing injury issues and congested fixtures combined, so a trip to Merseyside couldn’t come at a more vulnerable time for the Magpies.
Speaking of injuries, Liverpool have had several players added to the injury list over the last few months and will have a number of first-team favourites unavailable for selection for the meeting with Newcastle.
Joel Matip, Stefan Bajcetic, Andrew Robertson, Thiago Alcantara, Alexis Mac Allister and Kostas Tsimikas will not be fit enough to take part in the clash on New Year’s Day, according to Premier League Injuries.
How could Liverpool line up against Newcastle?
We predict that Jurgen Klopp will make two changes to his starting team that took all three points from Burnley on Boxing Day and will maintain his 4-3-3 formation as usual.
The first change we expect to see is in the defensive set-up with Ibrahima Konate coming in to complete the centre-back partnership alongside Virgil van Dijk and to replace Jarell Quansah, while Alisson Becker, Joe Gomez and Trent Alexander-Arnold retain their roles.
In the centre of the pitch we predict that Dominik Szoboszlai will return to the starting eleven to replace Ryan Gravenberch alongside Waturu Endo and Harvey Elliott who will both keep their places in the midfield three against Newcastle.
With that being said, nothing short of three points will be acceptable for the Reds as they continue their title charge into 2024 and a victory would set a great precedent for the year ahead.
