Newcastle United welcome Liverpool to St James' Park on Sunday afternoon in a game that is viewed by many as the standout Gameweek 1 fixture.
An older audience may cast their mind back to the Reds' famous 4-3 victory over Kevin Keegan's Newcastle in 1996 when thinking of this fixture, but the summer of 2025 lit a new spark in the rivalry.
Liverpool's acquisition of Alexander Isak -- who only months prior scored for Newcastle against the Merseyside outfit to steer the club to EFL Cup glory -- and Hugo Ekitike -- Newcastle's primary centre forward target -- angered supporters of the North East side, and the Reds rubbed salt in the wound when completing the double over Eddie Howe's side in the 2025/26 Premier League campaign.
While Isak will be a familiar face at St James' Park on Sunday afternoon, Matthias Jaissle gears up to manage his first Premier League game since succeeding Howe in early August. Newly appointed Liverpool boss Andoni Iraola lost just one games in seven matches against Newcastle as Bournemouth manager, and he'll be desperate to get three points on the board this weekend.
There is set to be plenty of new faces in the Newcastle starting XI on Sunday afternoon after a major reconstruction in the summer transfer window.
Lukas Hornicek -- who joined the club from Braga in a deal worth €30m earlier this month -- is expected to get the nod in between the sticks, while new arrival Amar Dedic may be preferred at right-back in the absence of the injured Tino Livramento.
Malick Thiaw, Sven Botman and Lewis Hall are three familiar faces that are expected to make up the back four.
Highly-rated French prospect Aladji Bamba could be joined by Jacob Ramsey in midfield, with Joelinton set to miss out through injury.
As a result of a lack of options in the engine room following the departures of Bruno Guimaraes and Sandro Tonali, Yoane Wissa could be deployed in an advanced midfield role behind strike William Osula -- who enjoyed a productive run at the end of the 2025/26 campaign.
Harvey Barnes and Anthony Elanga could be utilised on the flanks, while Bazoumana Toure may have to wait for his first start for the club.
As for Liverpool, Iraola's starting XI in their Anfield friendly against Serie A outfit Como last weekend is an indication of what team he will field.
Alisson Becker's inclusion is self-explanatory, while Virgil van Dijk, Milos Kerkez and Jeremie Frimpong are all but certain to take shape in defence. Jeremy Jacquet, who impressed on his Liverpool debut, is expected to beat Ronald Araujo to a place alongside the 6ft 5ins Dutchman.
Dominik Szoboszlai and Ryan Gravenberch are set to start alongside one another in midfield, with Florian Wirtz likely to be deployed in his preferred number 10 role.
Cody Gakpo is expected to start on the left side of attack, while Rio Ngumoha, who scored the stoppage time winner for Liverpool at St James' Park last season, is predicted to feature at right-wing.
Former Newcastle man Isak is a shoo-in to lead the line for Liverpool in the absence of Ekitike. Other absentees for the Reds include Conor Bradley and Giovanni Leoni.
Predicted Newcastle United team
Lukas Hornicek
Amar Dedic
Malick Thiaw
Sven Botman
Lewis Hall
Aladji Bamba
Jacob Ramsey
Harvey Barnes
Yoane Wissa
Anthony Elanga
William Osula
Predicted Liverpool team
Alisson Becker
Jeremie Frimpong
Jeremy Jacquet
Virgil van Dijk
Milos Kerkez
Ryan Gravenberch
Dominik Szoboszlai
Rio Ngumoha
Florian Wirtz
Cody Gakpo
Alexander Isak
