IT won’t be Messi – but it could still be messy. If Liverpool think they are in for an easy night when they swap the Nou Camp for St James’ Park tomorrow, they have been told they are in for a rude awakening.

“We are going to make it tough for them,” promised Newcastle skipper Jamaal Lascelles. “They probably know that themselves. It is not a nice fixture to come here, especially with our recent home form.”

While Newcastle’s players head into their final home game of the season with more than half a mind on their summer break, the stakes could hardly be higher for Liverpool as they attempt to overhaul the one-point deficit currently separating them from league leaders Manchester City.

With City playing their penultimate game of the season on Monday night, Jurgen Klopp’s side will travel to Tyneside hoping to reclaim top spot and pile the pressure on the reigning champions, but Lascelles is adamant his Newcastle team-mates still have plenty to play for themselves.

For a start, there is professional pride, with the Magpies hoping to claiming another notable scalp, having already beaten Manchester City this season. Then, with every Premier League place worth around £1.5m, there is a financial incentive to finish strongly, with Newcastle still able to finish anywhere between 11th and 16th position.

And having developed a reputation for signing off in style at St James’ Park, Lascelles is also determined to give Newcastle’s supporters something to shout about as they head into the summer.

Last season, the Magpies’ final home game saw them record a resounding 3-0 win over Chelsea thanks to a double from Ayoze Perez and a goal from Dwight Gayle. Two years earlier, an already-relegated Newcastle completed their home programme with a 5-1 thrashing of Tottenham that helped persuade Rafael Benitez to remain in charge in the Championship, and you have to go back to 2012 and a 1-0 defeat to Arsenal to find the last time United failed to win their final home fixture.

“We normally do finish off strongly,” said Lascelles. “Last season, we beat Chelsea 3-0. So we do normally finish off strong.

“They will obviously be playing for the title, so they will be flying. It won’t be like the Chelsea game where I think they were done and they weren’t really playing well. But we are going to make it tough, we are going to go for the win, and we want to keep going until the very last game of the season.”

Liverpool head to Tyneside on the back of Wednesday’s Champions League defeat in the Nou Camp, with Lionel Messi’s remarkable second-half brace ensuring Barcelona will take a 3-0 lead to Anfield for next Tuesday’s second leg.

The fact there is less than a week between matches could work in Newcastle’s favour, with Liverpool’s players only having a couple of days to get Wednesday’s defeat out of their system.

However, with their Premier League title hopes on the line, Liverpool full-back Andy Robertson is confident his side will not spend too long sifting through the wreckage of their Champions League setback.

“There can’t be a hangover,” said Robertson. “Newcastle is our full concentration now. We are near the end of the season, but we’ve got three, hopefully four, games left. We need to go strong into the Newcastle game.

“We need to get our bodies, first and foremost, ready and then go again because we can’t let our foot off the gas. We need the three points and push the whole way.”

Liverpool midfielder Naby Keita is set to miss tomorrow’s game, having picked up a groin injury in Barcelona. Keita was forced off in the first half at the Nou Camp, and is expected to miss Liverpool’s final two Premier League fixtures.