The Magpies bring the curtain down on 2020 by hosting Jurgen Klopp’s men, just four days on from the Boxing Day defeat at Manchester City.

But Bruce has delivered some promising news on the fitness of influential frontman Callum Wilson, who was among the substitutes at the Etihad Stadium. The United boss is hopeful that the England striker – Newcastle’s top goalscorer this term – will be “raring to go” against the Reds.

“He’s had a knock on his ankle, and I didn’t really want to risk him and make it worse,” said Bruce.

“He’s played four games in something like 12 days, so I had to try and protect him somehow, but hopefully he’ll be raring to go on Wednesday.”

There was some encouraging news, too, on the fitness of Jamaal Lascelles, who has been absent recently after suffering from Covid-19.

But Bruce admits that winger Allan Saint-Maximin, who has also had to contend with the virus, is still some way short of a return, as is Ryan Fraser and a handful of other first-teamers.

“There’s slightly better news on the skipper. He’s making inroads to joining in with the team. He’s done a little bit of light stuff,” he said.

“Unfortunately, we’re still weeks away with Saint-Maximin, so they’re the main two concerns.

“(Ryan Fraser) hurt his groin, and we’ve had an ongoing cycle with Ryan, either with hamstring or groin, and we all know that he didn’t play until last March.

“He’s got a few problems muscle-wise. How long will he be? I don’t think he’ll make Liverpool and the week after is still a bit early as well, but we’ll see how he is.”

Bruce added: “(Jeff) Hendrick and (Paul) Dummett are not well. Jonjo (Shelvey) as we know had a groin operation a month or so ago, and unfortunately he’s been very, very sore.

“Typical Jonjo, he wants play, but we’ve taken him out of the firing line to make sure he’s ready, and see if he can recover properly from what has been a difficult time for him.”

Liverpool were held to a 1-1 draw at home to West Bromwich Albion on Sunday, and Bruce – who says his side know all about the threat posed by Klopp’s outfit – wants his side to show more attacking quality against the Reds than they managed to at Manchester City last time out.

“They’re a very, very, very good side who are the champions of this country. To do that, you’re a very good team,” he said.

“We know what to expect, we know what’s coming. We need to go and perform like we did (on Saturday) and have that little bit more in the final third. We’ve got to show the same resilience against a very good Liverpool team.”