Newcastle vs Liverpool prediction: Mo Salah and Reds to brush Magpies aside at St. James’ Park? | OneFootball

Premier League leaders Liverpool have Newcastle on Wednesday evening in their sights after dismantling Manchester City 2-0 at the weekend (7.30pm, Prime Video).

Arne Slot’s side are nine points ahead of second-placed Arsenal and brushing aside all competitors on an unbeaten run stretching back 15 games across all competitions.

Newcastle’s season is best summed up by their last four results, in which they’ve beaten Arsenal and Nottingham Forest before losing to West Ham and drawing with Crystal Palace.

Eddie Howe’s side are certainly raising their game for the tougher matches, so should be motivated to perform in front of a home crowd that will be more than up for the fight.

However, the 11th-placed team are proving defensively poor and will likely feel the power of Liverpool’s attacking prominence.

How do you stop Mo Salah at the moment? The Egyptian superstar has 11 goals and seven assists in 13 Premier League matches in a season that is threatening to be his last with the Merseyside club. He is incredibly decisive on the pitch and able to impact the result in performances where his touches may a little limited.

Salah’s cross for Cody Gakpo was a thing of beauty in the win over Man City. It doesn’t matter if Pep Guardiola’s side are in awful form, no defence is cutting that pass out. Salah also showed great character to get over his penalty miss against Real Madrid when beating Stefan Ortega from the spot.

His goals are so often a difference maker for Slot, but as we can see on football betting sites, punters have a decent opportunity to up their potential winnings by including extra criteria that makes things extra spicy.

Throwing in Luis Diaz as a potential scorer will attract many, particularly because the Colombian started through the middle against Man City, a role he is increasingly being asked to fulfil in Diogo Jota’s absence. Diaz’s movement and sheer dribbling ability pulls players towards him, opening up great space for Salah and midfield runners from deep to exploit.

Newcastle are a combative side and will feel they need to physically impose themselves, a factor we’ve seen lead to nine players accumulating two or more bookings this season. Throwing these ingredients together makes for a potentially nice bet with decent returns.

Liverpool’s fast start blew Man City away, but it was their ability to dig in and not concede when Pep’s side had more control in the second half that could define their run to the title.

The Reds’ defence simply looked impenetrable; tight, well-organised, physically robust. They won both halves against a side with the deadliest striker in the world, reducing Erling Haaland to little more than wasted money on Fantasy Premier League.

Slot’s team may need to show their contrasting flamboyant and gritty sides once more. St. James’ Park can sap the energy from opponents if Newcastle get up and running quickly, so another fast start will be key to shutting down the hostilities.

Once Liverpool are in front, they rarely loosen their grip and have shown consistent quality to wrap games up in the final 20 minutes on multiple occasions this season.

Betting sites expect a similar outcome in a match that has proven so dangerous for elite sides over the years, but with Newcastle in poor form, this could be a surprisingly comfortable night for Slot and his men.

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