Overview
Liverpool and Newcastle United will face each other at Anfield in a match that could strongly impact the race for a UEFA Champions League spot.
Liverpool dropped to sixth place in the Premier League table after a breathtaking 2-3 defeat to Bournemouth last weekend. Manchester United and Chelsea immediately took advantage of this stumble to increase their advantage.
In the opposite direction, Newcastle is three places behind the home team and 3 points behind. Although not winning in the last 2 rounds, Eddie Howe's army is still fiercely chasing, and coach Arne Slot certainly does not want the gap to continue to narrow.
Liverpool entered 2026 with disappointing form when they drew all 4 of the first matches in the Premier League before collapsing at Bournemouth's stadium. The 5-match winless streak in the league (4 draws, 1 loss) is their longest in a season since November to January 2002-2003 (11 matches under Gerard Houllier).
Notably, Liverpool are at risk of not winning all 6 of their first matches in a calendar year for the first time since 1954, the season they finished in relegation.
However, the quality of The Kop's squad is still undeniable. In the Champions League, they just showed their strength with a 6-0 victory over Qarabag to maintain third place in the standings.
In his 91st match leading Liverpool in all competitions, Slot had the biggest win in his head coach career. This is also Liverpool's biggest victory since March 2023, when they crushed Manchester United 7-0 in the Premier League.
The question now is whether the Dutch coach can help Liverpool restart in the domestic arena?
Mohamed Salah, who just scored against Qarabag, has more direct goals against Newcastle than any other opponent in the Premier League (19 - including 10 goals and 9 assists). If he has one more assist in this match, Salah will become the first player in the history of the league to achieve two-digit results in both goals and assists against the same opponent.
Meanwhile, Newcastle traveled to Anfield with a morale boost when they reversed the score to draw 1-1 against defending champion Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League. However, the results in other matches forced the "Magpies" to accept a play-off spot, meaning the already tight schedule became even heavier.
Coach Eddie Howe understands that Newcastle needs to return to the Premier League track soon. They have been goalless in the last 2 matches - losing 0-2 at home to Aston Villa after drawing 0-0 at Wolves.
Only Sunderland and Wolves (both 7 matches) are teams that have not scored more away goals than Newcastle this season (6). Even, 70% of their away goals (7/10) came from exactly two big wins - 4-1 against Everton and 3-1 against Burnley.
However, the indicators still show that Newcastle is not completely deadlocked. In the defeat to Aston Villa, they created 2.3 xG but did not score. This is Newcastle's highest xG level in a Premier League match that has remained goalless since September 2022 (2.8 xG against Crystal Palace).
Head-to-head record
Liverpool has an overwhelming head-to-head record when they are unbeaten in the last 18 Premier League matches against Newcastle (13 wins, 5 draws). This series of matches has lasted since the 0-2 away defeat in December 2015.
After winning 3-2 in the first leg in August last year, Liverpool aims to complete a double victory against Newcastle in the 12th Premier League.
Score prediction: Liverpool 3-2 Newcastle
The match between Liverpool and Newcastle takes place at 3:00 AM on February 1st (Vietnam time).
