Newcastle United icon Alan Shearer has made a confident forecast that his former club will triumph over Liverpool in the Carabao Cup final on Sunday.
Eddie Howe's squad is on a quest to secure a first piece of silverware since 1955 this weekend, yet they're up against a formidable opponent in Liverpool, who is eyeing a domestic double in Arne Slot's first season, despite a recent Champions League setback against PSG.
Despite the Reds' star-studded lineup featuring Mohamed Salah, Luis Diaz, and Virgil van Dijk, Shearer isn't writing off the Magpies and is convinced they can halt their long wait for a trophy this time around.
Speaking with Betfair, Shearer declared, "I'm predicting Newcastle to win 2-1, in normal time. How will I celebrate if Newcastle wins? I'm due on a flight Monday morning, but I'm not sure I'll make it if Newcastle does win. I might have to cancel it until Tuesday morning!
"I've got several options for what to do and where to go if we win. If we don't win, then there's only one option, I'm going home! If we win, I'll be happy and emotional, because I've always said that I need and want to see this football club win a trophy in my lifetime. I'm 54 years of age, nearly 55, and I haven't seen us win a trophy.
"I was born in 1970, they won the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup the year before I was born, so I need to see this club win a trophy at some stage!"
Shearer, a legend at St James' Park with 206 goals in 405 appearances, never managed to clinch a trophy with the club, having suffered defeats in consecutive FA Cup finals in 1997-98 and 1998-99.
Newcastle is looking to end a long trophy drought
Now, he's rooting for the current squad to achieve what he couldn't - insisting that the club "deserves" some silverware.
"I've seen the reaction when we haven't won a final and it was amazing, the fans lined the streets after we lost the 1998 FA Cup final," he added. "You can only imagine what it will be like if this club wins something.
"This club deserves a trophy. The fans, if there's any set of supporters in the country who have followed their team all over the world through thick and thin, then it's the Geordies. If it's not going to be Liverpool, then the vast majority of neutral fans would like Newcastle to win, for that reason."