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In the first matchday of the new season Newcastle accept at home Liverpool at St James' Park. Last season was disappointing for both teams, but in very different ways. Newcastle's decline was dramatic in league-position terms. They finished 12th last season and now Eddie Howe has gone, with Matthias Jaissle taking over. Liverpool went from Premier League champions in 2025 to 5th in 2026, finishing 25 points behind Arsenal. Arne Slot was subsequently replaced by Andoni Iraola. Newcastle have lost major figures including Bruno Guimaraes, Sandro Tonali and Anthony Gordon, while Jaissle has brought in a younger group including Lukas Hornicek, Ewen Jaouen, Amar Dedid, Sean Steur, Aladji Bamba and Bazoumana Toure. Jaissle himself has basically acknowledged that this is a process and that the squad still needs adjustments. For the guests, Mohamed Salah, Andy Robertson and Ibrahima Konate are gone, while Curtis Jones has also left. Liverpool have added Jeremy Jacquet, Victor Munoz and Ronald Araujo on loan. Alexander Isak returning to Newcastle is probably the most interesting individual storyline in the opening Premier League weekend for a long time. Isak left Newcastle for Liverpool for €145m, after a hugely controversial transfer saga. He then had a difficult first Liverpool season, scoring only four goals with one assist in 22 matches. If he scores at St James' Park, the atmosphere is going to be unbelievable.
