Newcastle vs Liverpool preview, H2H, team news, line-ups and prediction

Newcastle United will aim to clinch their first Premier League victory over Liverpool since 2015 when they welcome the reigning champions to St. James’ Park on Monday, 25 August 2025.

What a summer it has been for Newcastle so far. After breaking their 70-year silverware drought by clinching the EFL Cup and ending last season in fifth place in the Premier League — a finish that booked their Champions League berth — Newcastle had aimed to build on that success and strengthen their squad to better position themselves for a push across all competitions in the 2025-26 season. Yet, Eddie Howe’s men have endured a frustrating summer window.

However, one cannot fault their lack of ambition, as they’ve been in the headlines at least trying to sign a player, but the constant rejection has raised eyebrows over what the problem could be, whether it’s the project, their target’s ambition of moving to a bigger club or possibly the lack of a viable sporting director, which could affect negotiations.

Newcastle’s transfer pursuits have so far been met with consistent setbacks, either through outright refusals or rivals swooping in at the last moment. The catalogue of missed targets is considerable — Bryan Mbeumo, James Trafford, Joao Pedro, Liam Delap, and Hugo Ekitike, with the latest blow coming as Benjamin Sesko chose to join Manchester United, while unsettled forward Alexander Isak continues to train away from the first-team setup amid ongoing links to a record-breaking switch to reigning Premier League title holders Liverpool.

With the deadline fast approaching, there remains substantial business to finalise — and key positions in need of reinforcements — if they are to avoid entering the season without being fully equipped.

Whatever the case may be, it is evident that the summer business might have played a role in the on-pitch performances, and the club will hope for a turn in fortune ahead of a hectic opening lineup of fixtures in the new season, which includes a clash against Liverpool soon after facing Aston Villa.

Anthony Elanga and Aaron Ramsdale remain the only senior arrivals for a Newcastle outfit that has only won one preseason game, coming against Carlisle United in July. They’ve not secured a single win in their subsequent six preseason fixtures — losing their opening three against Celtic (4-0), Arsenal (3-2), and a K-League XI (1-0) before drawing 1-1 with Tottenham Hotspur and losing 2-0 to Atlético Madrid on Sunday.

However, the Premier League has earned its reputation as the best league in the world due to its unpredictability and high chances of upsets if you don’t take your opponents seriously, irrespective of their status.

Liverpool experienced that reality in Sunday’s Community Shield defeat against Crystal Palace.

Last season, Arne Slot reshaped the squad he inherited from Jürgen Klopp into champions, but according to this evidence, his revamped lineup still needs refinement to mount a successful defence.

At Wembley, the Merseysiders showcased the attacking quality of new arrivals Hugo Ekitike, Florian Wirtz, Milos Kerkez, and Jeremie Frimpong, moving the ball fluidly and advancing with purpose. Yet their back line faltered, surrendering the lead twice before losing on penalties. Palace might have inflicted greater damage had Alisson not repelled Eberechi Eze, while Alexis Mac Allister escaped conceding a late spot-kick.

Such fragility won’t have shocked those following Liverpool’s warm-up fixtures. Recent games have followed the same pattern — sharper and quicker in possession, but alarmingly open whenever possession is lost. Against a counter-attacking outfit like Palace, those gaps proved costly, and similar opponents loom large, with Bournemouth visiting Anfield in the league opener on Friday, followed by a trip to Newcastle.

Despite those defensive lapses, belief in retaining the title remains high after a record-breaking recruitment drive. The club has committed over £250 million in fees this summer, headlined by a landmark deal for Bayer Leverkusen playmaker Florian Wirtz. Other key additions include Eintracht Frankfurt forward Hugo Ekitike, Bournemouth full-back Milos Kerkez, and Leverkusen right-back Jeremie Frimpong, along with Valencia goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili, whose transfer was finalised last year.

Newcastle United vs Liverpool match details

• Date: Monday, 25th August 2025
• Location: Newcastle upon Tyne, England
• Venue: St James’ Park
• Kick-off time: 07:00 UTC, 08:00 PM BST
• Tickets: You can buy tickets for the match via resellers such as Seatsnet.com

Match stats and head-to-head

• Liverpool’s most recent — and 94th — win in this fixture came in February 2025, as goals from Dominik Szoboszlai and Alexis Mac Allister secured a comfortable 2-0 scoreline. Newcastle, by contrast, have claimed 51 victories, one of which stands as their most significant success of the 21st century — a 2-1 triumph in the 2024–25 EFL Cup final, ending a punishing 70-year wait for major honours.

• Forty-five other meetings have concluded level, including an enthralling 3-3 Premier League clash in December 2024, when Fabian Schär struck in the dying stages to salvage a point for Eddie Howe’s side. Before that goal-laden contest, Liverpool had posted six straight wins over their northern counterparts—a streak that included a 2-1 away victory and a 4-2 home success in Jürgen Klopp’s farewell 2023–24 campaign.

• Newcastle have failed to win any of their last 17 Premier League matches against Liverpool (D5 L12) since a 2-0 triumph under Steve McClaren in December 2015—their only more extended winless sequence being a 19-game run without victory against Manchester United between 2002 and 2011.

• Mohamed Salah relishes this fixture, having faced Newcastle 17 times in the Premier League—16 appearances for Liverpool—and amassing 18 goal involvements, comprising 10 goals and eight assists against the Tyneside outfit.

Team news 

Ryan Gravenberch was absent from Liverpool’s Community Shield loss at Wembley, with Arne Slot explaining that the midfielder’s omission was due to the birth of his child on Saturday. The expectation is that he will rejoin the squad in time for the trip to St James’ Park.

Florian Wirtz and Hugo Ekitike, fresh from catching the eye in their Wembley outings, are tipped to keep their starting spots. Liverpool’s preparations have also been lifted by Virgil van Dijk’s recovery from illness, having returned to training and featured against Crystal Palace.

In goal, Alisson Becker is available again after missing the summer tour of Asia for personal reasons, though he faces competition from Giorgi Mamardashvili for the starting berth. Jeremie Frimpong is anticipated to line up on the right side of defence, with Conor Bradley doubtful through injury.

On the Newcastle side, Joe Willock is ruled out of the visit to Villa Park after sustaining a calf problem late in their friendly with Team K-League in Seoul. Eddie Howe confirmed the blow isn’t as severe as initially feared, but the midfielder is still expected to be sidelined for four to six weeks.

Alexander Isak is also unlikely to be involved, though not due to fitness issues. Speaking in a guarded manner on Friday, Howe admitted the striker is currently unavailable for selection for ‘a variety of reasons’, without indicating when he might return.

Doubts also linger over Sven Botman and Lewis Hall. Both players started recent friendlies — Botman against Atlético Madrid and Hall versus Espanyol — but each was withdrawn at the interval.

Predicted starting lineup

Newcastle United predicted starting lineup:

Pope; Trippier, Schär, Botman, Burn; Guimarães, Joelinton; Gordon, Anderson, Elanga; Osula.

Liverpool predicted starting lineup:

Alisson, Frimpong, Van Dijk, Konate, Kerkez, Szoboszlai, Wirtz, Jones, Salah, Ekitike, and Gakpo.

Prediction

Morale within both Liverpool and Newcastle camps is far from at its peak — for the Reds, it stems from their Community Shield defeat to Palace, while for the Magpies, it primarily results from a frustrating transfer window. However, Arne Slot’s side have looked better for most of their preseason games, showing fluid attacking displays with Wirtz and Ekitike pulling the strings in attack. Their defensive lapses remain a concern, having kept only one clean sheet in their last seven games, including a 5-0 win against Stoke City.

Newcastle will look to exploit their counter-attacking strength to capitalise on the Reds’ defensive lapses, using Elanga’s pace and Osula’s trickery to take advantage of the spaces left by the overlapping runs of Frimpong and Kerkez.

Eddie Howe will still be worried about his side’s overall performance in preseason, as they’ve failed to win any of their last six. The game against Liverpool will present a much bigger test, and they’ll hope to put their transfer frustrations away to put up a reputable performance against the Premier League champions.

We’re predicting a 2-2 draw. It wouldn’t be the ideal result for the travelling fans with Liverpool tickets who’ve got eyes on the title but it could prove to be a useful point for the Reds.