Newcastle vs Liverpool Premier League preview, team news, prediction and betting tips: Isak's return to Tyneside headlines new-manager derby

Matthias Jaissle takes charge of his first competitive Newcastle match following Eddie Howe's departure, while Andoni Iraola begins life at Anfield after Arne Slot's surprise exit just a year on from a title win.

Both sides go into this one having endured mixed, at times troubling, pre-seasons.

It has been a summer of major upheaval on Tyneside.

Eddie Howe left the club after nearly five years in charge — a spell that delivered Champions League football and a Carabao Cup triumph, fittingly against Liverpool in the final.

He has been replaced by 38-year-old German coach Matthias Jaissle, who arrives from Al-Ahli in Saudi Arabia, having never previously managed in England.

Exits rather than arrivals have dominated Newcastle's transfer business: captain Bruno Guimaraes left for Arsenal, Anthony Gordon moved to Barcelona, and Sandro Tonali joined Tottenham, stripping the spine out of a side that had punched above its weight for several seasons.

Jaissle has been backed with a squad rebuild of his own — priciest signing Bazoumana Toure (£42.8m), goalkeeper Lukas Hornicek (£26m from Braga), Amar Dedic, Aladji Bamba, Sean Steur and Ewen Jaouen have all arrived.

However, pre-season form has been alarming, with Newcastle losing their final three warm-up matches in a row.

Jaissle himself has already conceded his side "will not be at our peak" for this opener.

Liverpool's off-season has been just as dramatic in its own way.

Slot's exit came as a surprise given he won the Premier League in his debut campaign, but a trophyless fifth-place finish last season proved costly, and Andoni Iraola — who impressed hugely at Bournemouth — has been installed as his successor.

The Reds have also lost significant names this summer, with Mohamed Salah, Andrew Robertson and Ibrahima Konate all departing, while Curtis Jones looks set to follow them out the door to Inter Milan.

Replacements have arrived in the shape of Victor Munoz, Jeremy Jacquet and a loan deal for Ronald Araujo.

However, Iraola will lean heavily on Florian Wirtz and Alexander Isak — both signed last summer — alongside Cody Gakpo and Dominik Szoboszlai to carry the attacking load early on.

Liverpool's own pre-season has been patchy, with two wins, one draw and two defeats from their five outings, including a 2-3 loss to Monaco in their final warm-up.

The obvious subplot is Isak's return to St James' Park.

The Swede's protracted, sometimes acrimonious departure from Newcastle for a British-record fee makes this fixture, his first appearance back on Tyneside since the move, one of the most closely watched individual storylines of the opening weekend.

This has been an overwhelmingly one-sided fixture in recent years.

Liverpool have won ten of their last eleven meetings with Newcastle, who are winless in nineteen league head-to-heads (D5, L14) stretching back almost a decade.

The most recent meeting, at Anfield in January 2026, ended in a comfortable 4-1 win for the Reds. Across all competitions, Liverpool hold a commanding 96-51 record advantage, with 45 draws.

There is a crumb of comfort for the hosts in the managerial match-up, however.

While Jaissle is new to English football entirely, Iraola himself has never lost to Newcastle in the league, having won three and drawn three of his previous six meetings while in charge of Bournemouth.

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Goals have flowed freely in recent meetings between these clubs.

Liverpool's new-look defence — featuring Ronald Araujo on loan and new arrival Jeremy Jacquet — is still bedding in, and with Newcastle traditionally finding the net even in difficult away trips to Anfield, we expect this to be competitive.

However, Liverpool's overwhelming recent dominance of this fixture, combined with a Newcastle side low on confidence after three straight pre-season defeats and missing several key departures from last season's squad, makes the Reds clear favourites here despite their own new-manager transition.

Given the recent pattern of goals in this fixture and the quality gap that still exists even amid two managerial transitions, a tight, high-scoring match looks a realistic outcome.

Newcastle's home crowd and the emotional weight of the Isak subplot should ensure the hosts are competitive and score themselves, and Liverpool's superior individual quality in key areas should also result in chances for them.

Hence, backing both teams to score seems like a reasonable bet.

The narrative angle writes itself.

Isak returns to St James' Park for the first time since his British-record move away from the club, and reports suggest he can expect a hostile reception from the home crowd.

This is exactly the kind of occasion that has brought the best out of him before.

The Swede has looked sharp in pre-season, and with Newcastle's defence unsettled by injury doubts over Fabian Schar and Valentino Livramento, he should get openings against opponents whose movements he knows all too well.

Newcastle will be without Joelinton entirely, while Valentino Livramento (calf/shin/heel) and Fabian Schar (groin/hip/pelvis) are both doubts and will be assessed ahead of kick-off.

With so many key departures over the summer, Jaissle could hand debuts to several new arrivals.

Sean Steur and Aladji Bamba are both in contention to feature in a reshaped midfield, and Dan Burn is expected to captain the side in Bruno Guimaraes' absence.

Liverpool's absentee list is more extensive.

Conor Bradley, Hugo Ekitike, Joe Gomez, Jayden Danns and Giovanni Leoni are all ruled out, while Curtis Jones — expected to depart for Inter Milan — is also unavailable.

Jeremy Jacquet is a doubt with a knee issue, and Alexis Mac Allister may lack full sharpness, having only recently returned from extended World Cup commitments.

Iraola is expected to lean on Isak, Wirtz, Gakpo and Szoboszlai to carry the attacking threat.

Hornicek; Dedic, Thiaw, Botman, Hall; Ramsey, Steur; Elanga, Wissa, Barnes; Osula

Alisson; Frimpong, Jacquet, Van Dijk, Kerkez; Gravenberch, Szoboszlai; Ngumoha, Wirtz, Gakpo; Isak

Newcastle's home crowd, the emotional charge of Isak's return and Jaissle's need to make an immediate impression all point to a competitive opening act from the hosts.

However, the Iraola attack was firing on all cylinders for much of pre-season, and the Florian Wirtz and Alexander Isak partnership showed new signs of life.

Expect goals at both ends, with the visitors doing enough to get the season up and running with a win.

Correct score prediction: Newcastle 1-3 Liverpool