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Soccer tips: Liverpool vs Newcastle - Salah can steal the show against Magpies

The Reds are just 1/9 to bank all three points against the struggling visitors but the Egyptian’s incredible numbers offer us a better way to get with Jurgen Klopp’s men.

Liverpool, like title rivals Manchester City and Chelsea, needed a penalty to separate themselves from Aston Villa at the weekend.

The win was deserved but no manager likes such slim margins as that, especially with the pace at the front end of the Premier League starting to hot up.

Jurgen Klopp will hope for an easier night against a Newcastle side that succumbed to a 4-0 defeat at Leicester last time, a result that left them still deep in the relegation mire.

When: Thursday, December 16, 20.00 GMT

Where: Anfield

Follow this game via our score centre

Best bets for Liverpool vs Newcastle

Liverpool to have over 8.5 corners at 6/5

Jamaal Lascelles to be shown a cad at 21/10

Mo Salah to score and assist at 11/4

For fans of 90s nostalgia, Liverpool vs Newcastle conjures up memories of those 4-3 Anfield classics.

The original in 1994/1995 provided the ultimate drama, the sight of a crestfallen Kevin Keegan after Stan Collymore's last-gasp winner an enduring image.

Newcastle had a 12-point lead that season before being overtaken by Manchester United.

Fast forward to 2021 and they haven't even got 12 points in total.
Just one win and seven draws in their opening 16 games has left the Magpies with just 10 points and second bottom of the table.
Eddie Howe, Newcastle United, Premier League, manager

With the current set of players, Eddie Howe looks well and truly snookered so, for him, the January transfer window can't come soon enough.

Of course, that's no good for a December trip to a Liverpool side racking up win after win.
It's seven straight for the Reds in all competitions and, in the Premier League, they've banked a maximum 15 points from their last five games.
Klopp's men have conceded just one goal in that run and with injury concerns drastically reduced compared to last season, they're close to the levels of the incredible 2019/20 title season.
As for Howe's record against Liverpool… hmmm. He's lost his last six Premier League games to them by an aggregate score of 19-1.

Last three meetings

Liverpool 1-1 Newcastle (April 24, 2021)

Liverpool's hopes of a Champions League spot were dented by a 95th-minute equaliser from Joe Willock in an empty Anfield.

Mo Salah's excellent strike after just three minutes put the Reds in front and they were the dominant side early on.

But Newcastle came back into the game and after a Callum Wilson 'goal' was ruled out for handball, the Magpies grabbed a deserved equaliser when Willock's low strike was deflected past Alisson.

Newcastle 0-0 Liverpool (December 30, 2020)

This goalless draw was an obvious sign that the Reds weren't of the same vintage - or as ruthless - as their 2019/20 title-winning team as they failed to take several good opportunities to score.
That said, the shot count was only 11-8 in Liverpool's favour so it wasn't exactly all one-way traffic.
One stat to emerge from this one: it was the first 0-0 draw between the pair since 1974.

Newcastle 1-3 Liverpool (July 26, 2020)

Liverpool were in party mood having already ended their 30-year wait for the title although they looked as if they'd had one too many the night before when conceding after just 25 seconds to a Dwight Gayle goal.

But, in a changed side, Virgil van Dijk levelled on 38 before Divock Origi ended a 23-game run without scoring to put the Reds in front just before the hour-mark.

Sadio Mane came up with a clincher on 89 as Liverpool racked up 99 points, the second-highest total in Premier League history. The defeat meant the Magpies finished in 14th with 44.

Past 10 meetings

Liverpool wins: 5
Draws: 4
Newcastle wins: 1
Liverpool goals: 19
Newcastle goals: 10

Look at different ways to cash in on expected Reds dominance

It's worth noting the contrast between these two teams' current performance levels and how they were ahead of the 1-1 draw at Anfield near the end of last season.
Liverpool went into that April clash having failed to score a first-half goal in 2021 - a remarkable stat when you think of where they were before and where they are now.
Newcastle pinching a point didn't come out of the blue either.

Steve Bruce's men finished last season well and the 1-1 on Merseyside made it just one defeat in eight games and pulled them nine points clear of the drop zone.

Nine places separated them in the table back then with Liverpool sixth and Newcastle 15th.
By contrast, the current standings show the Reds second top and the Magpies second bottom.
After some positive early signs under Howe, Newcastle's 4-0 defeat at Leicester was sobering.
Howe now realises what he has to work with and reinforcements are needed fast. The promise of future riches has failed to help the here and now.

This is a bad time to run into Liverpool and it's reflected in the match odds, with the hosts just 1/9 and Newcastle 18/1.

So, given that all logic points to a home win, how do we make money on the Reds?
Liverpool to win to nil is an option at 3/4 but I prefer to look at the side markets.
The first one that appeals is Over 8.5 Liverpool Corners at 6/5.
This is likely to be a similar scenario to the home game against Aston Villa when the hosts dominated both possession and territory.
Liverpool had 11 corners against Villa and I can see something along those lines again as they launch attack after attack down the flanks.
With the visitors almost certain to be under the cosh, I'll also back Jamaal Lascelles to be shown a card.
Why the Newcastle No. 6 in particular? Well, he's picked up bookings in three of Newcastle's last four away games and it's easy to see him being caught out by Liverpool's fleet-footed frontmen.
He looks a good price to pick up a card at 21/10.

Goalscorer bets for Liverpool vs Newcastle

Mo Salah seems to score against everyone but we can be a little more specific in this case.
He's played in four games against Newcastle at Anfield and netted in all of them.
Not surprisingly, his odds to stretch that sequence to five are severely cramped at just 1/3 while he's just 29/20 to score a brace.
I'll instead go for Salah to really stamp his authority on the match by setting one up as well, something he's been trying to do a little more often this season while still banging them in himself.

In 22 matches this season, Salah has 21 goals and nine assists. Those are incredible numbers and, for reference, he has just as many assists as the recognised king of that category, Trent Alexander-Arnold.

Salah to score and assist is 11/4.
If Newcastle do score a goal it's likely to come from Callum Wilson or Allan Saint-Maximin. Both are decent prices if you want to take the gamble, with Wilson 15/4 and Saint-Maximin 13/2.

READ MORE: Ramsey? Bellingham? Trippier? Six British players who could come home in January

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