Premier League Big Match Focus: How to back a 9/1 Bet Builder in Newcastle v Liverpool

• Liverpool only team to beat Newcastle

• Isak looking to match Shearer

• Reds' horrible away form

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After claiming a crucial Merseyside derby victory on Monday, Liverpool face another game which they'll feel they can't afford to lose.

Jürgen Klopp's Reds needed a last-gasp Fábio Carvalho winner to get past Newcastle back in August, a result which at the time looked like restoring their top-four hopes. Instead, though, it is Eddie Howe's side who hold the upper hand in the race for Champions League qualification.

Newcastle have gone unbeaten in the league since losing at Anfield, and three points on Saturday would help extend their stranglehold on fourth spot. Liverpool, meanwhile, know a win could help keep their slim top four hopes alive ahead of a meeting with Real Madrid in this season's Champions League.

Never over until it's over

Carvalho's stoppage-time effort at the end of August brought Liverpool just their second win of the season, and their first in which they conceded the opening goal. That's not too uncommon an outcome in this fixture, though.

Liverpool have come from behind to beat the Magpies some 10 times, including the first of Howe's tenure in December 2021 when an early Jonjo Shelvey effort was wiped out by goals from Diogo Jota, Mohamed Salah and Trent Alexander-Arnold.

Only Manchester United can match the Reds' achievement of 10 comeback wins against a single opponent, and Newcastle are one of their two victims as well as Southampton.

Returning stars

Jota, who scored against Newcastle last term, returned from four months on the sidelines in the victory over Everton. Roberto Firmino was also back in action, making his first appearance since the World Cup break, and suddenly things are looking a little rosier for Klopp's men.

That goal in 2021 was the only one Jota has scored for Liverpool against Newcastle, though he did net against them for Wolves. Firmino, meanwhile, scored his first goal against the St James' Park side at the 11th attempt earlier this season.

On the other side, Alexander Isak recently returned from a three month spell out injured and scored his third goal of the season to seal victory over Fulham in January. Newcastle's record signing scored on his debut against Liverpool, and has a chance to become the first Magpies player since Alan Shearer in the 1999-2000 season to score home and away against the Reds in one season.

Pain on the road

You can hardly escape mention of Liverpool's dreadful away record when reading up on last season's Premier League runners-up. The derby win at Anfield offered some respite, but the results on the road speak for themselves.

A 3-1 defeat at Brentford. 3-0 at Brighton, and then again at Wolves. You have to go back to September 1954 for the last time Liverpool conceded three in a row in four successive away league games, though the last time they merely lost four in a row in the league is a little more recent and a lot more familiar.

Towards the end of the 2011-12 season, under Kenny Dalglish, Liverpool were beaten by Man Utd and Sunderland before throwing away a late two-goal lead to lose at relegation-threatened QPR. The fourth game in the run took them to - you guessed it - Newcastle, where a double for Papiss Cissé and a red card for Pepe Reina made it four in a row.

Newcastle United v Liverpool prediction

Not only is Saturday a chance for Liverpool to end their dismal away run, but it's a chance to go six unbeaten at St James' Park for the first time while also extending a 12-game unbeaten run against their opponents. They won't want to rest on their laurels, though, with the Magpies' last win in the fixture coming in a season when they were relegated.

That was December 2015, also known as Klopp's first trip to Newcastle as Liverpool manager. On that occasion, Martin Škrtel's own goal put the hosts ahead before Gini Wijnaldum clinched victory, and Klopp was impressed enough with the Dutch midfielder that he signed him just months later.

This is a Bet 5 Get 5 game, meaning you can get a £5 free bet when you place a £5 Bet Builder on selected football matches.

Newcastle have drawn more games than any other team in the Premier League, with Ligue 1 side Reims the only side in a big five league to better the Magpies' 11 league draws. With that in mind, we're looking at a draw with Mohamed Salah scoring at any time, which can be backed at 10.13.