We’ve now reached the penultimate weekend of this frenetic Premier League season and this Saturday evening could be the night in which the race for the title, goes on to take and its final and most important twist.
St James’ Park will be the setting, as Newcastle play host to Liverpool and Jurgen Klopp’s men know that anything less than a win, will then mean the advantage that Manchester City have at present will only further increase.
Not only that, but the man in charge of the Merseyside outfit will have to try to pick up his players after a potentially demoralising defeat in midweek – one that saw them handsomely beaten by Barcelona at the Camp Nou.
That defeat means that Liverpool’s hopes of winning a sixth Champions League (or European Cup) have rapidly diminished and if they don’t manage to get a win on Tyneside, it could well end up being a trophyless season for the Reds.
Something that would be incredibly harsh considering the football that the club have played over these past few months and especially, when you consider the league points haul that they may end up amassing in their pursuit of glory.
While, not only is the chase for the championship on the horizon this weekend, there is also an interesting sub-plot regarding Rafael Benitez. Not only, does it see the Spaniard go up against a former employer, but it could well be his last home game in charge of Newcastle.
Much has been made of the fact that Newcastle have been severely underfunded by owner Mike Ashley and although the purse strings were loosened ever so slightly in the January transfer window, one does wonder if it will be enough to convince the former Liverpool manager to stay in the North East.
If it does turn out to be Benitez’s last home game in charge of Newcastle, it will arguably be a case of Newcastle and by extension their owner, not knowing what they had in their possession until its finally gone for good.
Should that be the case, it will ask questions as to who will step into the St James’ hotseat and whether the next incumbent, can then work the same miracles that Benitez has managed to during his Tyneside tenure.
Of course, this all boils down to conjecture and these questions cannot be answered until the start of the next season, while the main focus for Newcastle will be to end their season on a relative high after surviving a relegation battle with some ease.
With Newcastle’s safety already booked, then there is always the concern that there is not a great deal for them to play for on Saturday. That said, the Premier League thrives on drama and there would be nothing more dramatic than Liverpool’s title hopes going up in smoke.
Liverpool will be the huge favourites going into this one, but that defeat in Catalonia might just have taken the wind out of their sails and don’t be all that surprised, if this meeting sees the Reds drop two hugely important points.