Ahead of Monday's game against Newcastle, the news Liverpool fans have been waiting for

This Monday Liverpool will play their first game in 2024, hoping that things in the new year will continue to go as well as in the last. They are at the top of the Premier League standings with 42 points, along with Aston Villa, but they have an advantage: they have played one game less, so if they get a win they could take three points off The Villans and become the only leaders of the tournament.

The only ones who can get closer are Manchester City, who have 40 points but have also played a game less. This is because last week they traveled to Saudi Arabia to compete in the Club World Cup and therefore postponed their match against Brentford.

During the last few weeks the English league has had unexpected results and the teams that were at the top of the table have not been able to stay there for long. The Reds are aware of the importance of the game against Newcastle this Monday at Anfield Road and that is why Jurgen Klopp will field the best possible team.

The coach will not be able to count on some players who have been injured for some time, such as Thiago Alcantara, Andy Robertson, Stefan Bajcetic and Joel Matip. Recently Konstantinos Tsimikas joined the list with a collarbone injury. The good news is that one of the stars of the squad is recovered and is likely to return: Alexis MacAllister. The Argentine midfielder suffered a knee problem during the match against Sheffield United on December 6 and has not played since.

They will soon have bad news too

Despite MacAllister's return, Liverpool have reason to be concerned. This is because in less than two weeks the Africa Cup of Nations and the Asia Cup will begin. This means that the Reds will be missing some important players from the squad. Among them Mohamed Salah, who will leave with the Egyptian national team.