Liverpool and Newcastle United will compete for the first piece of silverware on offer in the 2024-25 English football season, as they battle in the Carabao Cup final at Wembley on Sunday 16 March.
Liverpool, who are the reigning champions and have won the EFL League Cup a record 10 times, earned their place in the final with victories over West Ham United (5-1), Brighton & Hove Albion (3-2), Southampton (2-1) and Tottenham Hotspur (4-1 on aggregate).
Reds manager Arne Slot is looking forward to leading his team out at the iconic Wembley Stadium – long heralded as the spiritual ‘Home of Football’.
“It is special to go there as I know how iconic that stadium is,” said the Dutchman. ” [But] it’s only special if you can win things. We know how difficult that’s going to be as Newcastle are an impressive team.”
Slot won the Dutch Cup with Feyenoord last season, beating NEC 1-0 in the final. “It’s always nice to play a final,” he noted. “We come in every day, we try to improve the team. The players try so hard to improve themselves, but in the end it’s about reaching finals and winning things.”
Newcastle, meanwhile, are looking to win their first domestic trophy in 70 years (the FA Cup in 1954-55). They have never won the EFL League Cup, though they were runners-up as recently as 2022-23, losing in the final to Manchester United.
“It would mean the world to me to be the person to end the [trophy] wait but it would be not necessarily for me. It would be more, genuinely, for the supporters, for everyone connected with the club to embrace that moment if we were able to do it,” said Newcastle manager Eddie Howe.
“They’ve had a long wait for that moment and I know just from my dealings with people around the city, with people that I see, the love they have for the football club. I’d love to return that love with a trophy.”
The Magpies defeated Nottingham Forest (on penalties after a 1-1 draw), Wimbledon (1-0), Chelsea (2-0), Brentford (3-1) and Arsenal (4-0 on aggregate) to earn their place in the showpiece match at Wembley.
In head-to-head terms, Liverpool and Newcastle have met in 189 matches across all competitions since 1893.
The Reds have claimed 94 wins compared to 50 for the Magpies, while 45 games have been drawn.
The teams met as recently as late February in a Premier League clash at Anfield, with Liverpool securing a comfortable 2-0 win thanks to goals from Dominik Szoboszlai and Alexis Mac Allister.
Courtesy: Showmax
