"Can exploit these weaknesses" – Dimitar Berbatov makes bold prediction for PL fixture between Newcastle United and Liverpool

Ex-Manchester United star Dimitar Berbatov has predicted a 3-2 loss for Liverpool in their Premier League match against Newcastle United at the St. James' Park on Sunday (August 27).

The Reds have started the ongoing 2023-24 season on a positive note, registering a 1-1 stalemate at Chelsea and a 3-1 home win over Bournemouth. They are likely to put up a fight at Tyneside in order to reclaim their lost UEFA Champions League berth this campaign.

Newcastle United, on the other hand, opened their Premier League season with a 5-1 home win against Aston Villa in the opening weekend. However, after slumping to a 1-0 defeat at Manchester City last Sunday, they are aiming to bounce back to winning ways.

In his column for Metro, Berbatov claimed that Eddie Howe's outfit could make the most of Liverpool's ongoing midfield troubles. He wrote:

"This is going to be a great game and I'm going for Newcastle. People don't pay too much attention to Newcastle, they have a great squad and played well against City. Liverpool are not the way they used to be with players leaving, especially in midfield, so I think Newcastle can exploit these weaknesses."

The Reds, who finished fifth in the Premier League last campaign, are currently on the hunt for a first-choice holding midfielder after Jordan Henderson and Fabinho's departures. They have signed Wataru Endo from VfB Stuttgart for £16 million as a backup man in the aftermath of their failed pursuits of Moises Caicedo and Romeo Lavia.

Apart from the aforesaid Japanese, Liverpool have also signed Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai from Brighton & Hove Albion and RB Leipzig, respectively. They splashed a combined fee of £95 million to rope in the midfield pair to replace the likes of James Milner, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Naby Keita in their ageing squad.

Meanwhile, the Reds are unbeaten in their last 13 meetings against Newcastle.

Who are Liverpool's other midfield targets?

Liverpool, who have lost five of their first-team midfielders this summer, are still on the hunt for a first-choice holding midfielder. They failed to rope in Moises Caicedo and Romeo Lavia as Chelsea finalized a double swoop worth up to £173 million on the promising midfield duo.

Now, Jurgen Klopp's team have shifted their sights to other top targets. They have been heavily linked with Crystal Palace's Cheick Doucoure, Bayern Munich's Ryan Gravenberch, Manchester City's Kalvin Phillips and Fiorentina's Sofyan Amrabat, and Fulham's Joao Palhinha.

The Reds could also decide to reignite their interest in Emmanuel Kouadio Kone in the near future. They were heavily linked with the Borussia Monchengladbach man before the star picked up an injury in July.