England Round 20

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Liverpool vs Newcastle Preview:

Possible starting lineups:

Liverpool:
Alisson; Alexander-Arnold, Konate, Van Dijk, Gomez; Szoboszlai, Endo, Gravenberch; Salah, Nunez, Diaz

Newcastle:
Dubravka; Trippier, Schar, Botman, Burn; Joelinton, Guimaraes, Miley; Almiron, Isak, Gordon

Liverpool welcome Newcastle United at Anfield on New Year's Day. The Reds are first on the table with 42 points, two more than second-placed Arsenal. Of course, at the time of writing. Manchester City should also be mentioned as they have a match in hand. Liverpool are not in best form at the moment. They failed to register a victory on the last two home matches in the Premier League. What is worse, the Reds scored just one goal in the process. However, Klopp's men beat Burnley 2:0 at Turf Moor on Boxing Day. Darwin Nunez curled home a delightful opener, while Diogo Jota scored the second in the finish of the match. The Portuguese striker has just recovered from injury and scoring a goal is the best thing could happen. But six other players remain sidelined through injuries - Kostas Tsimikas, Joel Matip, Stefan Bajcetic, Thiago Alcantara, Ben Doak and Andrew Robertson. There is another injured player, though he is rated as doubtful. The medical team is optimistic about Alexis Mac Allister, who is in the final stages of his recuperation from a nasty cut to the knee. Wataru Endo is expected to start again after impressed against Burnley in the number six spot. Dominik Szoboszlai, Ibrahima Konate and Luis Diaz could start from the first minute after they were benched at Turf Moor.

Newcastle sit in the middle of the table with 29 points. The fans are not satisfied, even more as their club were eliminated from the Champions League. Manager Eddie Howe is under big pressure, as well as the players. Nevertheless, maybe Klopp explained the situation in the best possible way. He said that Newcastle were unlucky as they have that number of injuries and Eddie had to play the same lineup too often. "The guys who play all the time are tired and the guys who come back have no rhythm," said the German coach. The Magpies played a solid first half against Nottingham on Boxing Day and lead 1:0 thanks to Alexander Isak, but the former Newcastle attacker Chris Wood left St James' Park stunned into silence with his hat-trick. It was clear the Magpies are tired as they were outplayed and outrun in the second half. Howe will try to refresh the team, but there are many injury victims. Nick Pope, Jacob Murphy, Harvey Barnes, Jamaal Lascelles, Elliot Anderson, Javi Manquillo, Joe Willock and Matt Targett are all still sidelined. That's not all as Sandro Toneli is suspended due to illegal gambling activities.

Liverpool vs Newcastle Prediction:

Liverpool are big favorites, however Newcastle should not be underestimated. They are out of form, but they are still a strong team with quality players. The Reds won the last three mutual matches, but all of them were close games. Liverpool started the home campaign excellent, but the current results are not good - two draws in a row and just one goal scored, while four points dropped. The Magpies are able to cover the handicap, meaning they won't lose high.

Liverpool vs Newcastle Pick: Newcastle +1.5 AH @ 1.74 with Pinnacle

 

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West Ham vs Brighton & Hove Albion Preview:

Possible starting lineups:

West Ham:
Areola; Coufal, Ogbonna, Mavropanos, Emerson; Soucek, Alvarez; Kudus, Ward-Prowse, Benrahma; Bowen

Brighton & Hove Albion:
Verbruggen; Milner, Hinshelwood, Van Hecke, Estupinan; Gross, Gilmour, Baleba; Lallana; Ferguson, Pedro

West Ham United and Brighton & Hove Albion will try to continue the successful run in their opening fixture of 2024 on Tuesday. The Hammers are in series of three victories in the Premier League. They managed to beat 3:0 Wolverhampton Wanderers, 2:0 Manchester United and 2:0 Arsenal. As You could see, the Irons have scored seven goals and kept their own net untouched. The opponents were not easy at all, but on contrary. David Moyes is doing an excellent job and the fans are satisfied. West Ham could win four successive games with four clean sheets in a single season for the first time since 1994. But Moyes has some injury issues at the moment. Key player Lucas Paqueta came off after 33 minutes on the last match and Moyes has confirmed that the Brazilian suffered a knee injury. Most probably he won't play here, although the medical team have the last word based on the results of the scan. Michail Antonio and Kurt Zouma are also injured. Nayef Aguerd is rated as doubtful due to illness. Ghanaian international Mohammed Kudus is also doubtful, but from different reasons - he must go to African Cup of Nations, but there has been no confirmation when.

Brighton & Hove Albion are in the middle of the table with 30 points, three less than West Ham. Their current form isn't like the Hammers, but still solid - one win and one draw on the last two matches in the Premier League. The Seagulls first drew 1:1 at Crystal Palace, while in the last match of 2023 outplayed Tottenham with 4:2. Joao Pedro was double scorer with both goals coming from the penalty spot, while the remaining two were scored by Jack Hinshelwood and Pervis Estupinan. I believe the atmosphere in the squad is good after that success, while the players confidence is higher. Their manager Roberto de Zerbi is doing a fantastic job, even lost many important players during the summer. But the Italian coach also has some missing players for this match. Joel Veltman, Ansu Fati, Julio Enciso, Kaoru Mitoma, Simon Adingra, Solly March, Adam Webster and Tariq Lamptey are out injured, while Igor and Facundo Buonanotte picked up knocks in midweek and they are rated as doubtful. Finally, Lewis Dunk is suspended after picked up his fifth yellow card.

West Ham vs Brighton & Hove Albion Prediction:

Both teams were excellent in the previous round. West Ham beat Arsenal at the Emirats, while the Seagulls outplayed Tottenham Hotspur in their last fixtures of 2023. The players confidence is high in both squads and that is why I expect an interesting match in London. And efficient at the same time, so there should be goals from both sides. Just to remind You, West Ham won 3:1 the reverse fixture played at Amex in August.

West Ham vs Brighton & Hove Albion Pick: Both teams to score - Yes @ 1.52 with Pinnacle