Hello and welcome to our live coverage of the final day of the season. We will be setting the scene over the next 45 minutes or so before embarking on a dedicated min-by-min of Liverpool v Newcastle. As always, you can follow all today’s games live via dedicated matchcasts on our site.

Right, then, the teams are in the tunnel and out they come to a cacophony of noise. Can Liverpool do it? They need a big helping hand in Manchester. #WeGoAgain.

Time for some stats from Opta? Luis Suarez has 31 Premier League goals this season – he needs one more goal to set a standalone record for a 38-game PL campaign. The last time that more than one team scored 100+ goals in the same top-flight season was 1960-61 (three teams did so). Daniel Sturridge’s goals have won Liverpool 18 points this season; no player in the Premier League has won as many points for their side in 2013-14.

The English league has had some wonderful conclusions – Michael Thomas at Liverpool, Aguerooooooooooooooooo – here we look back at the very best. Will Liverpool demand a place on this list in future?

Liverpool’s strength this season has been taking teams apart in the first half and you’d expect them to do likewise today. Suarez needs one goal to break the record of 32 in a 38-game season and he might snaffle it up early on. If so, the intrigue will all be at the Etihad Stadium. City have already notched up 100 goals but, for drama’s sake, let’s hope they don’t add to that early on.

Alan Pardew: "That criticism, you can't wash it away and ignore it. I can't do that. I have to face the criticism that has come my way - the fans are not happy - and try to deliver a product that will make them happy. The most important thing is that you have a responsibility at Newcastle to play the game on the floor, play with passion and speed and play with an integrity. Those principles, I stand by and next year, I expect to deliver on those."

So what has Brendan Rodgers been saying? "We have to keep doing our job. We have to tick the box off, which is a win. Then it will be interesting if we make one of our quick starts. Get up in the match and there will be a point in the game if we’re up and they are drawing. That will be interesting."

Liverpool fans will be heartened to know that both Carroll and Downing are in the West Ham side, along with Liverpool supporter Kevin Nolan. Will they be especially motivated to win today? Probably not. That’s not really how professional football works, is it?

So the most significant team news from Anfield is that Newcastle are without Loic Remy, who attended Arsenal’s game against West Brom last weekend, due to injury. That, coupled with Liverpool’s strong side, means a victory is surely inevitable for the home side.