A battle of the North features on the Premier League New Year's Day menu for 2024, as Liverpool host Newcastle United at their Anfield base on Monday.
The Reds are on course to enter January at the summit of the standings courtesy of a 2-0 Boxing Day beating of Burnley, while the Magpies were humbled 3-1 at home by Nottingham Forest last time out.
Match preview
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Wasted openings came back to bite Liverpool in their pulsating pre-Christmas draw with then-leaders Arsenal, and an identical tale almost befell Jurgen Klopp's outfit at Turf Moor, where chance after chance went begging after Darwin Nunez curled home a delightful opener.
However, even as the Burnley faithful began to find their voice after two disallowed goals for the Reds - one far more controversial than the other - Vincent Kompany's men could not capitalise, and Diogo Jota rubber-stamped a Liverpool triumph with a 90th-minute effort from an incredibly tight angle.
Cody Gakpo and Harvey Elliott both had strikes ruled out at Turf Moor - Mohamed Salah was deemed to have been interfering from an offside position for the latter, which was labelled "insane" by Klopp - but with Arsenal suffering a shock home loss to West Ham United a couple of days later, first place belongs to Liverpool at the time of writing.
Whether the Reds will enter the New Year on their throne remains to be seen, though, as Arsenal can temporarily return to their perch by sinking Fulham on New Year's Eve, prior to which a fanciful nine-goal win for Aston Villa against Burnley would send the Lions top.
After prevailing in each of their 11 opening home games of the new term, playing out two draws in their last three Anfield battles may have dampened the spirits somewhat, but not since 2005 have they fallen to defeat on New Year's Day, winning four and drawing one of their subsequent five fixtures.
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In contrast, the Newcastle contingent will be praying for the New Year to breathe a new sense of life into their under-staffed and under-performing side, who were condemned to their sixth loss from seven games against Nuno Espirito Santo's Nottingham Forest thanks to an erstwhile marksman.
Alexander Isak may have drawn first blood from the penalty spot, but the Swede's predecessor left St James' Park stunned into silence, as Chris Wood conjured up a phenomenal hat-trick with three sublime left-footed strikes to ruin the Boxing Day festivities in the North East.
Barring home beatings of Manchester United and Fulham, December was not a month to remember for the Magpies, who bear the title of European outsiders as they languish in ninth place in the table, although it is impossible for Howe's men to drop any lower at this juncture.
The fixture list may not have such a daunting look to it any more given Newcastle's premature European exit, but fixtures with Aston Villa and Manchester City still await the Magpies this month, alongside a tantalising FA Cup third-round tie with Tyne-Wear adversaries Sunderland next weekend.
Before Howe's men can dream of putting their rivals to the sword, ending an abysmal four-game losing run on the road is the first item on the agenda at Anfield, where they succumbed to a late Fabio Carvalho strike in a 2-1 loss last term before suffering defeat by the same scoreline at St James' Park in August thanks to a Nunez-inspired fightback.
Team News
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Liverpool begin 2024 without the services of six well-documented injury concerns, as all of Kostas Tsimikas (collarbone), Ben Doak (knee), Joel Matip (knee), Stefan Bajcetic (calf), Thiago Alcantara (hip) and Andrew Robertson (shoulder) will not play a part in Monday's game.
The medical team will also need to conduct an assessment on Alexis Mac Allister, who is in the final stages of his recuperation from a nasty cut to the knee and could force his way into the matchday squad if fit enough, but a start is seemingly out of the question.
Wataru Endo enjoyed a fine December in the number six spot and will likely reprise his role on New Year's Day, although recalls should be in order for most if not all of Dominik Szoboszlai, Ibrahima Konate and Luis Diaz after they were benched at Turf Moor.
Meanwhile, Newcastle's absentee list is no longer in the double figures, but no fewer than eight injured troops are set to remain sidelined alongside Sandro Tonali, who will spend the first eight months of 2024 serving the remainder of his betting ban.
Nick Pope (shoulder), Jacob Murphy (shoulder), Harvey Barnes (foot), Jamaal Lascelles (groin), Elliot Anderson (back), Javi Manquillo (groin), Joe Willock (calf) and Matt Targett (thigh) are all still missing, but Joelinton was passed fit to make the bench on Boxing Day after his hamstring concern.
The Brazilian ought to threaten Sean Longstaff's place in the XI given the unforeseen impact of the fledgling Lewis Miley, and Howe may also be tempted to swap Dan Burn out for Tino Livramento, but the former's imposing frame could come in handy against Virgil van Dijk.
Liverpool possible starting lineup:
Alisson; Alexander-Arnold, Konate, Van Dijk, Gomez; Szoboszlai, Endo, Gravenberch; Salah, Gakpo, Nunez
Newcastle United possible starting lineup:
Dubravka; Trippier, Schar, Botman, Burn; Joelinton, Guimaraes, Miley; Almiron, Isak, Gordon
We say: Liverpool 3-1 Newcastle United
Liverpool's astounding August turnaround against Newcastle marked the 10th time that the Reds have come from behind to beat the Magpies in the Premier League - more than any other fixture in the competition's history - but the hosts should not need to harness their fightback powers on Monday.
Putting chances away remains a slight area of concern for Klopp's men, but with an out-of-sorts Newcastle still unable to find the formula for points on the road, the table-topping Reds should open 2024 in the best possible way.
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Top tip
Ben Knapton
