EPL Betting – Liverpool at Newcastle

Liverpool (-162) at Newcastle (+475), Draw (+333)

Jürgen Klopp didn’t bring instant magic to Liverpool when he replaced Brendan Rodgers as manager, failing to earn a win in his first three matches at the helm. But the German now has the Reds humming, winning two straight and five of six (all competitions). Liverpool will look to make it three in a row when they visit St. James Park to take on struggling Newcastle this Sunday (11:00 AM Eastern).

Liverpool hasn’t just been beating up on the EPL’s cellar-dwellers, either, earning impressive road wins over both  Manchester City (4-1) and Chelsea (3-1). (I guess Chelsea is an EPL cellar-dweller, actually, but that’s another story.)

Midweek, the Reds kept up the momentum by thrashing Southampton (6-1) with two goals by striker Daniel Sturridge.  It was the first time this season that Sturridge, who’s been dealing with a nagging knee injury, was able to start for the new manager.

Klopp was understandably impressed.

“I said to [Daniel] after the game: ‘Now I know what everybody is talking about.’ I knew about his quality but not live in a stadium,” Klopp said in the press conference after the game.

Liverpool are currently six points below league-leading Manchester City in the standings, but have a great chance to inch closer against Newcastle. The Magpies have lost two in a row and currently sit in the relegation zone with only ten points after 14 fixtures.

“Nobody is happy at this football club,” said Newcastle manager Steve McClaren to the BBC. “All of sudden we have gone three steps forward and five or six back.

Newcastle’s last two losses were not just any losses; they were massacred  by Leicester (3-0 at home) and Crystal Palace (5-1 on the road)

Liverpool shouldn’t have a problem getting a win on Sunday.  Even though the game is at St. James Park, the Reds have looked great on the road and Newcastle hasn’t been able to defend their home turf. Take Liverpool to win by two.

Pick: Liverpool (-162). 

(Photo credit: Dean Jones (flickr) [https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/legalcode]. Photo has been cropped.)