Newcastle vs Liverpool: Isak Returns in Super Sunday Showdown

St James’ Park gets its first jolt of the new Premier League season on Sunday – and it comes with a storyline ready-made for hostility.

Newcastle host Liverpool in a late-afternoon Super Sunday kick-off, with both clubs under new management and both stripped of some of their biggest names. The game is live at 4.30pm on Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Premier League, with coverage from 4pm.

On the touchline, Matthias Jaissle takes charge of Newcastle in a league game for the first time since replacing Eddie Howe. In the opposite dugout, Andoni Iraola leads Liverpool after Arne Slot’s brief reign ended with his sacking.

The fixture already crackled last season. Liverpool won 3-2 at St James’ Park and then thumped Newcastle 4-1 at Anfield. This time, the cast has changed – but the temperature has not.

A summer of exits sets the stage

Newcastle staggered to 12th last season. The fallout has been brutal.

Howe has gone. So too have captain Bruno Guimaraes, Sandro Tonali and Anthony Gordon, stripping the spine and the swagger from a side that only recently felt on the rise. Jaissle walks into a club that has been reshaped in a single summer and now has to find a new identity in real time, under the lights, against Liverpool.

Liverpool’s own reset has been just as stark. Their title defence fizzled out with a fifth-place finish, 25 points adrift of champions Arsenal. Then came the departures: Mohamed Salah, Andy Robertson and Ibrahima Konate all left on free transfers, taking with them goals, leadership and years of continuity.

The rebuild is already on show. Ronald Araujo and Jeremy Jaquet are jostling to partner Virgil van Dijk at centre-back after featuring against Como in pre-season, while Victor Munoz is another who could taste Premier League football for the first time in Liverpool red.

Isak’s return to Tyneside fury

And then there’s Alexander Isak.

A year ago, the Swedish striker blew up his relationship with Newcastle, publicly declaring that it “cannot continue” because of broken promises and a lack of trust. The fallout was poisonous, the move inevitable: a £130m switch to Liverpool and a summer of fury on Tyneside.

Now he walks back into the noise he left behind.

This isn’t just about whether he scores. It’s about what happens every time he touches the ball. Every turn, every sprint, every duel with a black-and-white shirt will carry an edge.

Sky Sports’ Lewis Jones sees a different angle: the fouls. Sky Bet price Isak at 10/11 to be fouled at least once and 4/1 to be fouled twice or more – numbers based on his historically low fouls-won profile, not the emotional powder keg he’s stepping into.

But this is St James’ Park, opening day, with a perceived traitor in red.

There is a simple way for a Newcastle player to light the fuse: put Isak on the floor. Not through anything pre-planned, but through the natural aggression of a high-stakes, high-emotion game where one man will feel the full weight of the crowd.

Every time he’s clipped, every time he’s barged, the volume will spike. If one tackle really lands, the stadium will erupt.

Jones’ prediction? A 2-2 draw, with his “best bet” pinned firmly to Isak being fouled at least once and twice or more.

Team news: new faces and key absentees

Newcastle’s options are already stretched. Joelinton and Tino Livramento are ruled out of the opener, handing Jaissle an early test of his squad depth.

The flip side is opportunity. Lukas Hornicek, Amar Dedic, Sean Steur, Aladji Bamba and Bazoumana Toure could all make their Premier League debuts, a cluster of fresh faces thrown straight into one of the league’s most unforgiving fixtures.

Liverpool’s reshaped defence is under the microscope. Araujo and Jaquet are battling to start alongside Van Dijk, while Munoz is another candidate for a first league appearance as Iraola stamps his authority on the squad.

How to follow the clash

For those watching from home, Sky customers can tune in on Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Premier League from 4pm, or stream via the Sky Sports app by heading to the ‘Watch’ section and selecting the Premier League channel after signing in with a Sky iD.

Non-Sky viewers can pick up a NOW Day or Month Membership to stream the match, with NOW offering contract-free access to all 12 Sky Sports channels and every Sky Sports+ stream across more than 60 devices.

On the move, supporters can follow every twist through live online coverage and then catch free Premier League highlights shortly after full-time.

The stage is set: two new managers, two rebuilt squads, one returning villain. How long before St James’ Park finds its voice – and who silences it first?