NBC Sports ready to capture Liverpool’s celebration of Premier League title

Rebecca Lowe expects to be in the happiest place on earth on Sunday afternoon.

Lowe and NBC’s Premier League studio crew will be at Anfield for the final day of the season as Liverpool gets to lift the championship trophy after facing Crystal Palace.

It is Liverpool’s second Premier League title but the first it will be able to celebrate in front of a sold out crowd. Liverpool won the championship in 2020, but the joy was muted as it celebrated in front of only a couple hundred fans due to COVID-19 crowd controls.

“I think Anfield might be the happiest spot to be maybe anywhere in the world,” Lowe said earlier this week. “This is a moment for a generation. I know there are going to be men and women in their 30s and 40s who’ve never seen Liverpool lift the top flight of English football, and that is why this Sunday is so special for these fans.”

Liverpool has had the title wrapped up since late April, making the final match day of the season mostly meaningless after the championship went down to the final minute the past couple years.

Even with the three relegation spots decided, the only drama remaining is which clubs will get the final three auto qualifying spots for the Champions League. Manchester City, Newcastle, Chelsea, Aston Villa and Nottingham Forest are separated by just three points.

Even the Crystal Palace supporters making the trip to Liverpool are going to be in a celebratory mood after it won the FA Cup last Saturday for the first time with a 1-0 victory over Manchester City.

Lowe, who grew up rooting for Crystal Palace, was in London last week for the FA Cup final.

Liverpool was not considered among the Premier League championship favorites going into the season. Arne Slot came in as manager after Juergen Klopp resigned after being at the club over eight years and leading them to the title in 2020.

“If anybody back in August would have picked Liverpool to win the league, they would have been laughed out of town,” said Lowe, who has hosted NBC’s coverage since it started carrying the Premier League in 2013. “Arne walks into this massive club, succeeding a massive figure and character and then pretty much walks his way to the Premier League trophy. I think it’s been a combination of excellent coaching, a very good squad that he inherited and very few injuries.”

NBC Sports wraps up its 12th season by showing all 10 “Championship Sunday” matches beginning at 11 a.m. EDT. NBC has the Liverpool match while USA Network, CNBC, SYFY, Telemundo, Universo and Peacock will also have other matchups.

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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer