The Premier League title race could take yet another dramatic twist this weekend as Liverpool and Manchester City return to top-flight action.
There's just a point separating the two sides heading into the final five matches and a slip up from either team could allow the other to take full control and become the next Champions of England. Both face tricky-looking away trips on Saturday before the home-straight in May.
City head to Leeds United after Liverpool take on in-form Newcastle United at St James' Park in the early kick-off. The Reds have picked up 37 points from a possible 39 available as they look to catch Pep Guardiola 's side and claim a second league triumph in three seasons.
However, the Magpies are not an easy opponent nowadays and Liverpool will have to work hard to claim maximum points from their trip to the North East. Eddie Howe has transformed Newcastle from a relegation-threatened outfit up to fighting towards the top-half of the division.
It isn't the first time the two teams have played each-other during a title race, though. The Reds needed to go and win at Newcastle in the Friday Night Football to keep the pressure on City in the 2018/19 season.
Similarly, there was just a point between the sides and Liverpool had the opportunity to go back to the top - which will also happen if they beat the Magpies at 12:30. In that fixture, the Reds were pegged back twice but still managed to win the game.
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Virgil van Djik gave Klopp's team the lead, before Christian Atsu equalised in spectacular fashion. It took the Reds just eight minutes to restore their advantage through Mohamed Salah, but Newcastle kept fighting and levelled for a second time as Salomon Rondon fired home from close-range.
But in the 86th minute, cult hero Divock Origi popped up with the match-winner, heading home Xherdan Shaqiri's cross to seal the points for the Reds. This wasn't an easy escape for Liverpool, who had to battle hard to come out with the victory against a side who had little to play for.
In his post-match press confidence after the win almost three years ago to the day, Klopp said: "What can I say? It’s just brilliant, it’s like a fairytale. That was really a big moment (Origi's goal).
"I accepted long ago that we will do everything, absolutely everything, and the boys will throw whatever they have on the pitch. That means whether we will be champions or not, it’s destiny.
"We do everything, we cannot do more. Can you get more than 94 points? Not really. The boys tried everything, even when we had the draws they tried everything to win the game.
"The boys showed in each second that they really want to win it. We knew what we had to do and the boys did it in a very difficult game. Credit to Newcastle. Wow.
"If any people doubt the teams that don’t play for anything any more, that they are halfway on the beach already, that was the opposite. Is there any history between Newcastle and Liverpool that I don’t know about? The atmosphere was like something happened between them in the past."
That victory seemed like it was going to be the turning point where Liverpool caught City, but they ultimately fell short after Guardiola's side won their final two matches. The Citizens squeezed past Leicester City in the Monday Night Football thanks to a 30-yard wonderstrike from Vincent Kompany.
On the final day, City held their nerve to beat Brighton & Hove Albion 4-1 despite falling behind to Glenn Murray's early opener. Liverpool did their job by securing a 2-0 win over Wolverhampton Wanderers, but it wasn't enough to steal the title away from Guardiola's men.
Newcastle are expected to bring a similar sort of task to the table this weekend - especially given their run of form and how some players are fighting for their futures. After spending almost £100million in January, the Magpies hierarchy are set to splash more cash in the summer as they try and compete at the top end of the league.
Klopp's focus, however, will just be on getting the job done and trying to keep the title race as close as it can be going into the run-in. That game back in May 2019 was actually the last time this fixture has been played with supporters inside the stadium due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Origi, who scored the winner on the night, has popped up with some pretty important goals for the Reds since joining from Lille in 2014. This season, the Belgium international broke the deadlock in the 93rd-minute at Wolves and also netted the second against Everton last weekend.
Could this be another occasion for Origi to impress? He certainly has history in the fixture and could be pivotal if Liverpool do go on to lift the Premier League title.
