Alexander Isak forced his way out of Newcastle this summer, and now he walks back into St James' Park wearing red. That is the entire story of this fixture before a ball is kicked. A £125m exit that got ugly in public, a fanbase that felt used, and a striker who has to stand in the away technical area at a stadium that used to sing his name.
Newcastle fans have had all summer to decide how they feel about him, and matchday will make that decision for real, out loud, in a packed ground. Liverpool arrive with the player at the center of it, and whatever Isak does or doesn't do on the pitch, the reception is going to shape how this game is remembered. Every other storyline in this match is background noise to that one.
None of that settles anything about who actually wins. Newcastle at home with a point to prove, or Liverpool traveling in with the man who left. Pick the result.