Liverpool v Newcastle Betting Odds

Liverpool will look to thrust themselves into the mix for a top four spot going into the new year when they take on Newcastle at Anfield on Friday.

While progress has clearly been made under Kenny Dalglish as his first year in charge of the Reds draws to an end, the man they call King Kenny has fallen a little way short of reigning supreme as draws against lesser opponents continue to hinder his side’s progress back to the summit of the table.

Liverpool’s latest setback came against rock-bottom Blackburn who were able to claim a point an Anfield – largely thanks to the goalkeeping heroics of Mark Bunn who was deputising for the absent Paul Robinson – to leave them three points off fourth place Chelsea in the race for a Champions League spot.

Much of the attention going into the game had focused on Liverpool’s wastefulness in front of goal that had allowed the likes of Swansea and Norwich to claim points against them, and the problem reared its ugly head once more as the likes of Luis Suarez, Dirk Kuyt and most notably Andy Carroll created 28 shots for their solitary goal against Blackburn.

In fact, such is the problem facing Liverpool and Dalglish that they are now officially the most errant finishers in the Premier League having converted around 8% of the chances they have created this season, compared the 20% of chances both Manchester United and Manchester City have put away so far.

Suarez, perhaps the man guiltiest of wasting chances – the former Ajax forward’s five goals in the league have come at an average of over 16 shots per goal – is suspended for the game after admitting a misconduct charge following a hand gesture made towards Fulham fans earlier this month.

However there was some good news for the Reds after Steven Gerrard made a 22 minute cameo in the game against Blackburn after a lengthy spell on the sidelines, and the England international will be hoping to feature much more heavily at Anfield on Friday.

Newcastle meanwhile have finally got back to winning ways after ending their five game winless streak with back to back wins over West Brom and Bolton which followed their electric start to the season, and now they’ll look to start heading back in the direction from which they came up the table when they travel to Liverpool.

Nile Ranger returned to the Sports Direct Arena from his loan with Barnsley while defender Davide Santon is a doubt for the game having missed the 2-0 win over Bolton with a recurrence of an old hamstring injury.

Match Winner

Despite Liverpool’s tendency to drop points against teams they should be beating,  they remain favourites to end the year on a high and take all three points in their final game of 2011.

Kenny Dalglish’s side are 1.57 (4/7) with Paddy Power to take the win while Newcastle are 7.50 (13/2) with Bet365 to make it three wins in a row.

The draw is placed at 4.33 (10/3) with Boylesports.

First Goalscorer

With Luis Suarez absent, much of the goal scoring responsibility will likely be placed upon the out-of-sorts Andy Carroll.

The former Newcastle man is 6.50 (11/2) to get proceedings under way with @ Bet365 while Newcastle hitman Demba Ba, one of the most in form strikers in the Premier League currently, is placed generously at 9.00 (8/1) with BlueSQ.

As an outside bet, Charlie Adam is at 11.00 (10/1) with Coral to score the first goal of the game.

Recommended Bets

First Goalscorer: Demba Ba, 9.00 (8/1) BlueSQ

Correct score: 1-1 draw, 9.00 (8/1) Ladbrokes