Why Liverpool have no reason to fear St James' Park visit as impressive recent record emerges - opinion
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Liverpool’s match against Newcastle this bank holiday Monday is being billed as a battle for the ages.
The Reds are in the midst of trying to sign Newcastle’s best player, who has refused to train or play while the saga develops.
But whatever happens with Alexander Isak, Liverpool and Newcastle must get Monday’s game out of the way first.
The atmosphere is likely to be incredibly hostile for the Reds at St James’ Park, with many supporters wrongly pinning the blame for Isak wanting to leave on Liverpool.
Arne Slot‘s team did not look especially convincing during Friday’s win over Bournemouth, which has led to concern amongst the fanbase heading into the fixture.
However, Liverpool have a very good Premier League record against Newcastle and have plenty of reason to be optimistic ahead of this one.
Photo by Liverpool FC/Liverpool FC via Getty Images
Obviously, the most recent fixture between Liverpool and Newcastle feeds into the narrative that the Reds are in for a tough ride on Monday.
Slot’s team were not good enough in the Carabao Cup final and were deservedly beaten by the Magpies on the day.
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Nevertheless, that victory represented the first time Newcastle had beaten Liverpool in any game since December 2015.
Given it was a cup game, the Reds’ record of 17 Premier League matches unbeaten against the Magpies is still going strong.
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As per Liverpoolfc.com, the Merseysiders have also had an excellent time of things at St James’ Park.
Their last seven matches at the stadium read: won five, drawn two.
Of course these records are there to be broken and Liverpool’s dominance will end one day.
But, interestingly, it is also noted that the Reds are unbeaten in their last 10 first away matches of the season, dating back to 2014 against Manchester City.
Furthermore, Liverpool have scored 124 Premier League goals against Newcastle, the third most of any team in the division’s history, behind Arsenal’s haul of 125 against Everton and the Reds’ own record of the same number vs Tottenham.
Obviously, despite Liverpool’s good record at the ground, St James’ Park does remain one of the Premier League’s most difficult away days.
The Magpies have won each of their three first home fixtures of the season under Eddie Howe, and have also won six of their last seven matches at St James’.
Liverpool have conceded the first goal on each of their last two visits to Tyneside as well, and if they do so again, the crowd could be whipped into an unstoppable frenzy.
So, while there are definite reasons to be wary for Monday evening, the positives should still shine through in what is set to be a hugely exciting game of football.