Liverpool Favoured to Handle Newcastle Amid Isak Saga at St James' Park

Posted : 25 August 2025

Liverpool’s attempted pursuit of Alexander Isak has unraveled, with the Newcastle striker publicly accusing his club of broken promises. Newcastle rebuffed a £110 million bid, and now Isak is training alone and excluded from the squad—not an ideal backdrop for Eddie Howe’s side heading into the game.

With Isak sidelined, Newcastle must rely on Anthony Gordon and Harvey Barnes to spearhead the attack. Liverpool’s summer signing Hugo Ekitike, meanwhile, arrives with confidence after netting on his debut. Given referee Simon Hooper’s reputation for card-happy refereeing—averaging nearly five bookings per match—spice and high stakes are guaranteed.

What the Stats Reveal

Newcastle are winless against Liverpool in the Premier League in 17 matches (D5 L12), their last league win coming in December 2015 under Steve McClaren. Only Man City (22) and Manchester United (18) have imposed longer winless runs on Newcastle in league history.
Liverpool have won five of their last seven league trips to St James’ Park (D2), bouncing back from 1-0 deficits in each of their last two visits—winning 2-1 in 2023-24 and drawing 3-3 last season.
Newcastle ended the 2024-25 campaign on a low, losing at home to Everton after a strong six-game home run. However, under Howe, they’ve won their opening home game in each of the last three seasons.
Liverpool’s away form has dipped—they’ve lost three of their last four league away fixtures (W1), matching their total losses from the prior 39 combined (W22 D14).
Newcastle failed to score in their last three Premier League matches (D2 L1), despite an otherwise productive run before that.
Liverpool remain potent under Arne Slot, scoring 90 goals in 39 Premier League games—averaging 2.3 per match, the best goals-per-game ratio under any Reds manager. One more goal would equal their longest-ever league scoring streak (36 matches from March 2019 to February 2020).
Anthony Gordon led the league with seven shots on matchday one, though he failed to score.
Mohamed Salah is a nightmare for Eddie Howe—he’s racked up 13 goals and 8 assists in 14 league games against Howe’s teams, the highest tally any player has amassed against a manager in Premier League history.
Without Isak, Newcastle haven’t scored in any of their last four league matches, despite generating 47 shots and 5.57 xG in that time.
Salah has been directly involved in 18 Premier League goals against Newcastle (10 goals, 8 assists), and is the only player to assist in six consecutive matches against one opponent.

Predicted Scoreline & Betting-Style Preview

Score Prediction: Majority of experts expect Liverpool to win—Covers.com and talkSPORT tip a 3–1 Reds victory. Fox Sports offers a more emphatic forecast, calling a 3–0 Liverpool win.
Betting Odds Snapshot: Liverpool are +100 favorites (implied 50% chance), while Newcastle are underdogs at +230. A draw sits at +280; the over/under for total goals is set at 3.5.
Value Picks:
- Ekitiké to score anytime: trending at around 7/5.
- Asian Handicap Newcastle +0.5: viewed as a value bet—Newcastle to win or draw at ~1.80 odds.

Liverpool Favoured to Handle Newcastle Amid Isak Saga at St James' Park

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