Newcastle host Champions Liverpool at St. James' Park on Sunday hoping for a final flourish to a Premier League season that fizzled out once safety was secured after the 4-1 win against Bournemouth & effectively ended when Man City won 2-0 in the FA Cup Quarter Final eliminating The Magpies from the competition.

Jurgen Klopp's Champions head to Newcastle for the final game of this elongated Premier League season following an eight-goal thriller 5-3 in their favour over Chelsea midweek which meant The Reds lifted The Premier League title for the first time in 30 years on a significant 96 points, one each for the fallen of Hillsborough.

Klopp spoke about the significance of Liverpool winning the trophy reaching 96 points on the night they won the title amid rumours the Merseyside club would love to finish on that symbolic number although the German is rarely one to settle for any complacency:

“I don’t believe too much in coincidence in life, to be honest,”
“I think it was Trent (Alexander-Arnold, in an interview after the game) who saw the 96 points, and in that moment I felt it so massively that things came together.
“It cannot be a coincidence that we have 96 points on the night we get the trophy. It was really nice and made it really special. I hope all the families felt it the same way.”

Newcastle fans, meanwhile, saw the funny side of current Premier League CEO Richard Masters handing over the top flight trophy at Anfield mocking up an 'Imminent' FaceMask on the man who will ultimately decide whether the Saudi Arabian NUFC takeover is finally given the greenlight and approved or rejected after 16 weeks of limbo with some fans still hopeful that any announcement either way would naturally be delayed until the season had finished.

As for the game itself, there's little to play for in terms of Premier League position with The Magpies standing 13th with 44 points, two points ahead of Crystal Palace who play Jose Mourinho's Europe-chasing Tottenham Hotspur side in a rich vein of form. While each Premier League place is worth an extra £2.7M net to the club, most significantly if Newcastle were to win the game, Steve Bruce could finish the season on 47 points bettering Rafa Benitez's best top flight NUFC season points total.

That would surely enhance Bruce's reputation yet the Geordie wasn't underestimating the challenge of playing a Liverpool side who have won The Premier League, The Champions League & World Club Cup in the last 12 months:

Its a task that will be all the more difficult without the heart of Newcastle's defence with Jamaal Lascelles, Paul Dummett, Ciaran Clark, Florian Lejeune & Fabian Schar injured yet The Magpies welcome back Isaac Hayden & Sean Longstaff from the injury table with the former potentially slotting into a centre back role alongside Fede Fernandez & Kell Watts.

Star Newcastle midfield playmaker and top Premier League scorer JonJo Shelvey joked he hoped Liverpool's win had triggered a week of celebrations among the Reds' squad but spoke of a determination to end the season on a high with an eye on the future:

Under whose ownership next season is the question on every Newcastle Cans' lips.