Liverpool will aim to maintain their lead at the Premier League summit when Newcastle United visit Anfield on New Year’s Day.
With 19 matches in the books, Jurgen Klopp’s side find themselves two points clear of second-placed Arsenal and six points inside the top four.
As for Newcastle, they occupy ninth place and sit 13 points behind Liverpool, having lost four of their previous five Premier League matches.
Liverpool head into Monday’s clash on the back of a straightforward 2-0 victory over Burnley, courtesy of goals from Darwin Nunez and Diogo Jota.
Not only did the Reds enjoy 69% possession, but they also racked up 19 shots, while the Clarets failed to register a single attempt on target at Turf Moor.
Klopp’s men have now avoided defeat in each of their last 12 Premier League games, picking up seven wins and five draws along the way.
Better still, Liverpool have avoided defeat in each of their previous 22 matches at Anfield, underlining their solidity on home soil.
Meanwhile, Newcastle suffered a 3-1 defeat to Nottingham Forest on Boxing Day, with Chris Wood netting a hat-trick against his former club.
The Magpies have now lost four of their last five Premier League clashes, falling to Everton, Tottenham Hotspur and Luton Town before losing to Forest.
It is also worth noting that Eddie Howe’s men have conceded 11 goals across their previous five league outings, ruining their defensive record in the process.
Having failed to win six of their last seven encounters across all competitions, Newcastle will struggle to transform their fortunes under the Anfield lights.
Head-to-head: In the reverse fixture back in August, Liverpool claimed a 2-1 victory over Newcastle, with Darwin Nunez coming off the bench to score two late goals.
That win extended Liverpool’s unbeaten streak against Newcastle to 14 games, with Klopp’s men winning each of the previous five meetings.
Team news: Liverpool are currently without Joel Matip, Andrew Robertson, Alexis Mac Allister, Thiago Alcantara, Kostas Tsimikas and Stefan Bajcetic due to injury.
On the flip side, Newcastle are without Sandro Tonali, Nick Pope, Jacob Murphy, Harvey Barnes, Joe Willock, Elliot Anderson, Jamaal Lascelles, Javier Manquillo and Matt Target.
When you couple Liverpool’s impressive record at Anfield with Newcastle’s poor form of late, all the signs point towards a home win on New Year’s Day.
Forebet predicts that Liverpool will score over 1.5 goals and keep a clean sheet on their way to overcoming Newcastle.