The Magpies head to Loftus Road for their penultimate game of the season with a two-point cushion over 18th-placed Hull City, who are also in London taking on Tottenham.
If Newcastle win and Hull lose, they will be safe with one game to spare.
If the results are reversed, however, United will host West Ham on the final day of the season knowing that another defeat would send them down.
Barton was a member of the last Newcastle squad to be relegated in 2009, although a characteristically hot-headed dismissal at Anfield in the final month of the campaign meant he was not part of the side that lost at Aston Villa on the final day of the season as the demotion was confirmed.
He is part of a club in turmoil, with a national newspaper claiming Barton had pointed the finger of blame at a number of his team-mates earlier this week, suggestions the 32-year-old has subsequently denied on social media.
Carver: “He won’t do us any favours, there’s no danger of that. I don't really know what the politics were when he left. I am not up to date on that side of it.
“But one thing is for sure, knowing his personality and character, although he loved his time here and the fans liked him, he won’t want to do anyone any favours.
“He is quite a proud guy - as you saw last weekend when he faced up to the fans even though they (QPR) lost six. He will want to prove a point and won’t want to go out on a bad point, a low point, of his career with a defeat.”