Newcastle and Liverpool open the 35th round of the English Premier League. The Magpies are safe and sound in the middle of the table, nine points behind West Ham, who occupies the place which leads to the Europa League, and with theoretical chances to reach that spot. Meanwhile, the Reds are hunting Manchester City in the battle for the EPL title. They have one point fewer than the Citizens and need to keep on winning, hoping that the champs might slip somewhere along the road.
We also have the previews of pretty much all the important EPL games this week delivered by our fantastic Kurt Boyer. Also, we have several more other events covered and you can find them at the end of this article.
Preview
Newcastle (+750) has been one of the best teams in the league since the New Year, and since Eddie Howe took over the wheel. We remember that the Magpies sat in the relegation zone a few months ago, and now they are in the upper part of the table.
Right now, Howe’s unit posted four wins in a row, three of them with clean sheets. The defense and very good tactical approach have been the key to the Newcastle’s solid results in recent times.
At St. James’ Park, this unit won the past six events, in three scoring two or more goals and in three keeping their net intact. One after another, Everton, Aston Villa, Brighton, Wolves, Leicester, and at last Crystal Palace fell before Newcastle.
Liverpool (-333) is without a defeat in 11 straight games, winning nine and having two draws. Their latest four events saw them triumphing in all of them with two goals scored, and in the previous three posting clean sheets.
Overall, Liverpool netted at least twice in the past nine encounters and in 10 of the previous 11. It is the proof of their excellent form and another praise for Klopp’s decision to land Luis Diaz.
The Reds haven’t lost the latest dozen when looking only at the games on the road; seven of them coming with Liverpool posting a clean sheet. The forwards, on the other hand, were at their usual level of play.
Latest News
Newcastle has a lot of injured players. Fraser, Hayden, Lewis, Trippier, and Calum Wilson are all out. You’ll have to admit, these guys are very important for their game.
On the other side, the only questionable one is Roberto Firmino, who has a foot issue. Klopp probably won’t force the Brazilian into playing here because he has more important games until the end of the year.
Head to Head Games
Liverpool was better than the Magpies in the first part of the season, beating them 3-1 at Anfield. The guests would take the lead after seven minutes, but already until the halftime, the result was back on the hosts’ side. The Magpies are without a win against this rival in the past 10 games.
Prediction
This will be a hard game for Klopp and his crew, but we expect to see them win here. And not just to win, but to do that by covering a 1.5-goal spread. The odds are very good, +105, meaning that they will double the stakes. Howe’s boys are playing without any pressure, and they should be willing to play open football. After all, that is the only way to play against the Reds because if you defend, they will roll over you.
Pick: Liverpool -1.5 +105
More previews for this weekend’s games.
Nikola Velickovic is a sports journalist who loves to write and read on all sports. Nikola contributes both news updates and functions as a sports breaking news writer at WagerBop.
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Email: nikola@wagerbop.com
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