John Motson has boldly predicted Newcastle United to defeat Liverpool 2-1 when the two sides clash at St James Park on Saturday.
The legendary commentator doubted that the Reds could end the season having lost only one league game and backed the Magpies to take advantage of playing Jurgen Klopp’s side either side of their two Champions League clashes.
Motson highlighted the fact that St James Park will be rocking in order for Magpies fans to show their appreciate for Rafa Benitez with his contract situation still not sorted, and raved about how well Newcastle attacker Ayoze Perez was currently playing.
“Funny, I’m going 2-1 the other way,” said Motson on talkSPORT (14:53, Friday May 3rd).
“I just think Liverpool…can they really get to the end of the season having lost only one game? I always thought somebody somewhere or other would trip them up and with the Barcelona games either side of this…
“And Newcastle with Ayoze Perez suddenly playing out of his skin, and they’ll be a lot of support for Rafa again in this period just before we find out whether he’s getting a contract so the crowd will be up.
“I’m going to go 2-1 Newcastle.”
OPINION
Motson has really gone out on a limb to predict a Liverpool loss. It would be bold just to predict the Reds to drop points against the Magpies as Klopp’s side have been racking up result after result in the league lately. However clearly Motson believes competing on two fronts will catch up with Liverpool on Saturday. It’s easy to see why he thinks the Magpies will be able to cause an upset, as the atmosphere is set to be electric. Benitez’s contract is still on course to run out at the end of the season, and the Magpies’ loyal fanbase will want to voice their support for the Spaniard. It’s hard to imagine that any Newcastle fan would want to wave goodbye to Benitez as he has done a tremendous job at the club. The experienced manager has worked on a tight budget under Mike Ashley and yet has still kept the club comfortable in the Premier League. Hopefully Benitez will agree a new deal with the Magpies, but time is running out.