With the Reds facing a tough away trip to St. James' Park on Sunday, what better excuse than to look back through the biggest blockbusters between Liverpool and Newcastle in the Premier League era?

In terms of pure footballing ability, last season was the closest Newcastle and Liverpool have been to one another in well over a decade. The Magpies even finished above the Reds for the first time since 2011/12, despite losing to Jurgen Klopp home and away.

This season, the contests between the two clubs looks to be even more fierce, with Newcastle trouncing a massively-improved Aston Villa side 5-1 on the opening game of the season and new additions like Sandro Tonali performing exceptionally well.

But Liverpool have some new faces as well, and both teams are known for scoring for fun, so this weekend's game has the minerals to be another thriller.

Liverpool vs Newcastle evokes some of blockbuster encounters, but what have been the very best matches between the sides in the Premier League era?

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Liverpool 4-3 Newcastle, April 3, 1996

The first entry is probably the most famous on the list and goes right the way back to the mid 1990s.

With both Liverpool and Newcastle still fighting for the title at the business end of the season, the main priority was to try and catch the eventual winners of the 1995/96 campaign, Manchester United.

Therefore, when Newcastle made the visit to Anfield with less than two months before the league's climax, it was a must-win game for both clubs and, my word, did they act like it.

The match was voted the Premier League 10 Seasons Awards' 'Game of the Decade' in 2003 and it's clear to see why. Liverpool took the lead early on through Robbie Fowler, before the Reds firstly went 2-1 down and then 3-2 down.

However, in the final moments of the game, Stan Collymore scored a fantastic stoppage time winner to complete his late brace, winning the game 4-3 at the death.

If it wasn't several years before that sponsor came along you'd call it: Pure Barclays.

Liverpool 4-3 Newcastle, March 10, 1997

Yes, you read that right. Less than a year after the iconic seven-goal thriller, Liverpool beat Newcastle at Anfield again by the exact same scoreline.

While the spectacle of the back and fourth attacking blockbuster a year prior wasn't exactly replicated in 1997, another 4-3 result isn't exactly boring.

Liverpool started the game exceptionally well and were leading 3-0 at half-time thanks to goals from Steve McManaman, Fowler and Patrik Berger.

However, just as is often the case in football, the game was a tail of two halves, with Newcastle coming out in the second half at 100 miles per hour and scoring three times in 17 minutes.

Newcastle didn't take full advantage of their resurgence that day though, with Fowler scoring a second to win the game for the Reds.

However, it wasn't all good news for Liverpool that season. Newcastle finished above then-manager Roy Evans for the second season in a row (albeit on goal difference as both clubs and Arsenal finished on exactly the same points, wins, draws and losses).

Newcastle 0-6 Liverpool, April 27, 2013

The two clubs played plenty of thrilling games over the next 16 years, but Liverpool absolutely thrashing Newcastle away from home in 2013 simply had to be on the list.

Brendan Rodgers had plenty of great results as Liverpool boss, but to put six past Newcastle at St. James' Park in your debut season is one he'll no doubt remember.

The game started in fifth gear and remained that way until the final whistle. Daniel Agger opened the scoring with a rare goal in the third minute, followed up by a Fabio Borini (remember him?) strike either side of braces from Jordan Henderson and Daniel Sturridge.

Despite the great result, Liverpool still only finished seventh that year, but Rodgers was certainly cooking and we all know what happened just one year later in 2013/14.

Newcastle 2-3 Liverpool, May 4, 2019

Despite only scoring 41 goals for the club across a seven-year span, it seems like you can't make a list of great Liverpool moments without including Divock Origi. The cult hero scored so many late goals, and important ones too.

The 2018/19 season will always go down as legendary as far as Liverpool Football Club are concerned. In case you need reminding, the Reds won their sixth European Cup and first major trophy under Klopp, while simultaneously racking up a ridiculous 98 points in an unprecedented title race with Manchester City.

Liverpool faced a tough away trip to Newcastle in their penultimate game of the season, and as the clock began to wind down, the Reds were drawing 2-2 and the title race was beginning to slip away.

As the fanbase has collectively said so many times before, enter Origi.

The Belgian rose highest to meet a free-kick into the box in the 86th minute and buried it into the top corner. The away fans went justifiably mental and Liverpool were in with a shot of the title going into the last day of the season.

While the jubilation didn't last for long as Manchester City eventually won the title by a single point, the memory will remain forever, and that's thanks to Origi.

Liverpool 2-1 Newcastle United, August 31, 2022

There have been dozens of incredible games between Liverpool and Newcastle, but if we're talking about individual moments, they don't come more satisfying than this.

The 2022/23 season was underwhelming to say the least for the Reds - they finished outside of the Champions League places for the first time in years, their defence was incredibly shaky and morale was fairly low amongst fans.

Newcastle on the other hand, for the first time in decades, were absolutely flying. Under their new ownership and being managed by the highly-rated Eddie Howe, the Magpies went on to surpass every expectation and qualify for the Champions League, all while having statically one of the best defences in the league.

However, they still couldn't beat Liverpool. Klopp beat Howe's side home and away last season, but the best moment from the two came very early on in the season.

Newcastle took the lead in the first-half through their new signing Alexander Isak, but a much-improved second-half, and a Fabinho strike meant that the sides were level in the 90th minute.

The away side wasted time throughout the entire second-half. Yes, it's part of the game, but this performance took time wasting to a whole different level, and resulted in an additional eight minutes being played.

In the final kick of the game, a corner led to a scramble in the Newcastle box and eventually fell to Fabio Carvalho, who rifled the ball into the roof of the net and the Anfield crowd erupted.

That'll teach them.