Newcastle vs Liverpool preview- December 28, 2008

Game : Newcastle (12th-22 points) vs Liverpool ( 1st-42 points)

Venue : St.James Park, Newcastle

Date : December 28, 2008 ( Sunday)

Competition : English Premier League

Kickoff : 12.00 GMT

Joe Kinnear’s Newcastle United face a tough test on Sunday afternoon when Liverpool travel to St.James Park for their last football game of 2008.

The Magpies lost for the first time since November 9 on Boxing Day when they were beaten 2-1 by Wigan Athletic. Sebastien Bassong got sent off, and to compound Kinnear’s woes, Habib Beye and Mark Viduka both got injured during the game. Beye is definitely out, and Viduka is a doubt. Jose Enrique damaged his calf in the warm up to the Wigan game, and is also a certain absentee.

Newcastle United- last five games- all competitions

Wigan Athletic 2-1 Newcastle United ( Danny Guthrie)
Newcastle 2-1 Tottenham Hotspur ( Charles N’Zogbia, Damien Duff)
Portsmouth 0-3 Newcastle United ( Obafemi Martins, Michael Owen, Danny Guthrie)
Newcastle 2-2 Stoke City ( Michael Owen*2)
Middlesbrough 0-0 Newcastle United

Liverpool produced a confident performance to beat Bolton Wanderers 3-0 on Boxing Day. Theirs was the best performance among the Big Four, they will travel to St.James Park full of confidence. Robbie Keane also scored a brace against the Trotters, and it seems that the former Tottenham forward is slowly but steadily adjusting to life at Anfield. Alvaro Arbeloa is out with a hamstring injury. Javier Mascherano missed the game against Bolton, but is expected to start against the Magpies. Fernando Torres might be on the substitutes bench.

Liverpool form- last five games- ( all competitions- Liverpool scorers indicated in brackets)

Liverpool 3-0 Bolton ( Albert Riera, Robbie Keane*2)
Arsenal 1-1 Liverpool ( Robbie Keane)
Liverpool 2-2 Hull City ( Steven Gerrard*2)
PSV 1-3 Liverpool ( Ryan Babel, Albert Riera, David N’Gog)
Blackburn 1-3 Liverpool ( Xabi Alonso, Yossi Benayoun, Steven Gerrard)

Corresponding fixture last season:-

Liverpool 3-0 Newcastle United ( Dirk Kuyt, Ryan Babel, Steven Gerrard)

Newcastle are missing several key players, and Liverpool will want to go into the new year as leaders. Liverpool to win this 3-0, with Gerrard, Keane and Kuyt scoring.