New Managers, New Hopes for Newcastle and Liverpool

Newcastle and Liverpool kick off their new Premier League campaigns with an eagerly anticipated clash at St. James' Park. Sunday's fixture marks the beginning of new eras for both teams, following significant managerial and squad overhauls this summer.

For the hosts, this is their first official match under the guidance of Matthias Jaissle. The German took charge of Newcastle after a summer that saw the club part ways with key figures such as Bruno Guimarães, Sandro Tonali, and Anthony Gordon. The club has invested in young talents, including defender Amar Dedić from Benfica, goalkeeper Lukáš Horníček from Braga, and midfielder Aladji Bamba from Monaco.

Liverpool also enters the season with a new manager, Andoni Iraola. The Merseyside club saw the departures of Mohamed Salah, Ibrahima Konaté, and Andrew Robertson, but strengthened their defense with Jérémy Jacquet and Ronald Araújo, while Victor Muñoz was brought in to bolster the attack.

Newcastle's pre-season preparation yielded mixed results; the team managed only one win from seven friendly matches. They suffered defeats to Bristol City (1-4), Everton (1-3), and Bayer Leverkusen (1-2), and drew 1-1 with Strasbourg in their final warm-up game.

Liverpool concluded their summer friendlies with a 2-0 victory over Como and a 0-0 draw against the same opponent, after earlier losses to Monaco (2-3) and Leeds (2-4), and a 1-0 win against Wrexham.

Matthias Jaissle will be without the injured Joelinton and Valentino Livramento, as well as Joe Willock. William Osula is expected to start up front, supported by Anthony Elanga, Yoane Wissa, and Harvey Barnes.

For Liverpool, Joe Gomez, Conor Bradley, Giovanni Leoni, Hugo Ekitike, Stefan Bajcetic, and Vítězslav Jaroš are all sidelined due to injury. Former Newcastle striker Alexander Isak is anticipated to lead the line for the visitors, with Florian Wirtz, Cody Gakpo, and young Rio Ngumoha providing support.

Premier League statistics heavily favor Liverpool – Newcastle has not secured a victory against this opponent in their last 19 league encounters. Last season, Liverpool won 4-1 at home and 3-2 away, although Newcastle did claim a 2-1 victory in the Carabao Cup final in March 2025.