Liverpool defender Trent Alexander-Arnold is facing an extended spell on the sidelines with an ankle injury, ruling him out of Sunday’s Carabao Cup final against Newcastle, live on Sky Sports.
Arne Slot says Alexander-Arnold will be back before the end of the season after sustaining an injury in the second half of Liverpool’s Champions League exit to PSG on Tuesday, but his absence leaves Slot without a recognised right-back.
Conor Bradley and Joe Gomez are still recovering from their own respective injuries, but there is hope Ibrahima Konate can shake off the effects of a knock that also forced him off five days ago.
Liverpool’s Trent Alexander-Arnold has been ruled out of the Carabao Cup final after limping off vs PSG midweek
“Trent is not available. He will not be there at the final,” said Slot.
“He is still to be assessed for how long it will take but we do expect him back before the end of the season.
“On Ibou Konate, we didn’t train yesterday, we had a day off, and the day before that was recovery. I expect him to train with us today but let’s see how he is.”
Slot added: “In this part of the season, it’s almost impossible to have all your players fit. Both teams have two, or three or four players who cannot play. That’s almost a privilege because so many teams have had more than that.
“Two or three injuries is the minimum you can expect after months of non-stop football. It’s a big compliment to staff of Newcastle and Liverpool that players are available.”
Sunday 16th March 3:30pm
Kick off 4:30pm
Slot backs Quansah at right-back after England call-up
The injury to Alexander-Arnold leaves Jarell Quansah as Liverpool’s likely starter at right-back at Wembley. The 22-year-old will go into the game having earned an England call-up from Thomas Tuchel.
“It says a lot about his mentality,” said Slot when asked about his call-up. “Last season everyone saw what a talent he is. Then, this season started with him starting, but I changed him against Ipswich and Ibou and Virgil [Van Dijk] were – and are – such a strong combination that he didn’t play a lot.
“Afterwards, every time he played, everyone could see that he is no longer just a [young] talent because as a [young] talent you don’t have any setbacks.
Liverpool’s Jarell Quansah has been included in the England squad
“The moment you get setbacks, it’s about how you react and I think he showed in his recent performances that he outgrew being called a [young] talent and that is probably what Thomas Tuchel saw and sees by calling him up.”
Quansah sent a header against the post after replacing Alexander-Arnold at right-back against PSG and earned praise from Slot for his recent displays.
“He did really well the last few times he had to play for us, even in a position he is not used to, as a right-back, but he has the qualities to play there,” added Slot.
“He’s strong, he’s fast, he’s very comfortable on the ball, and it gives us an extra quality in terms of set-pieces.
“He showed mentality, and that he had quality, which we knew when we saw him playing last season.”
‘What a SHOCK!’ | The most DRAMATIC Carabao Cup Finals
Howe: Newcastle unified despite absences
Newcastle will look to present a unified front when they return to Wembley for their second cup final in three years, manager Eddie Howe said on Friday.
Newcastle – who have the chance to win their first major trophy since 1955 – will be without centre back Sven Botman and left back Lewis Hall, both of whom picked up injuries this month.
Anthony Gordon is also serving a three-game suspension after being shown a red card against Brighton in the FA Cup.
Eddie Howe has called on supporters to help get Newcastle over the line in their blockbuster Carabao Cup final against Liverpool
“Everyone else is available,” the manager said. “Losing big important players is never easy, but you have to come back stronger in a unified way.
“We’ve tried to double down on our core strengths. The spirit is really good and that’s why the win at West Ham was so important. Everything is positive.
“Genuinely, whenever I look at a team selection there is always decisions to make. We’re looking at the opposition and figuring out who needs to slot in where. We have a very tight squad, so there aren’t loads of options.”
Merson’s prediction: ‘Newcastle are up against it’
Sky Sports’ Paul Merson:
“I’d say Liverpool. With [Lewis] Hall and [Anthony] Gordon missing – Hall has done well with [Mohamed] Salah in recent games – I think Newcastle are up against it and they’ll have to keep it tight.
“Take a part of the front three out – Gordon, [Alexander] Isak and [Jacob] Murphy – and they aren’t the same team. I know [Harvey] Barnes comes in but he’s not the same player as Gordon. Barnes wants the ball into feet and Gordon will run off it.
“Unless you’re a Sunderland or Liverpool fan you want Newcastle to win this cup. Everyone wants Newcastle to win it because it’s been so long without a trophy.”
Take a look at the highlights of Newcastle United against Liverpool from the 2015/16 Premier League season.
Jones Knows: Final to be decided on penalties?
Sky Sports’ Lewis Jones:
My instincts initially wanted to get against Liverpool with them dominating the outright betting at just 3/10 with Sky Bet to lift the trophy. But a quick scan of Eddie Howe’s record with Newcastle against Liverpool and Manchester City completely put me off that idea. From 18 games against those two elite teams, Newcastle have won just once, losing 14 times and conceding 2.4 goals per game to a backdrop of 18.5 shots per game.
I’m heading to the goals market instead then. Every time a final comes around at Wembley, I do think opposing goals at that stadium in that environment of high stakes is a sustainable long-term betting strategy. I’m convinced Wembley has the potential just to sap the momentum out of a game. In the last 41 domestic and European matches played at Wembley, the average goals per 90 stands at 1.94 goals in normal time over 41 games. And there have only been four games where the goal line has gone over 3.5 from those 41 matches. An incredibly profitable trend to follow.
Another piece of evidence to throw into the low-scoring theory for this match is related to how Premier League clubs have fared in their next game after being knocked out of the Champions League in extra-time or penalties. Exactly what Liverpool are facing here.
And from the last nine occasions, eight of those nine matches went under 2.5 goals and the total match goals in those nine games averaged just 1.6 per 90.
Yes, nine games is a very small sample size but I think it makes perfect sense that a team that have been both mentally and psychologically fatigued in a Champions League knockout game are going to feel the effects of that in their next game.
Under 2.5 goals at 5/4 with Sky Bet it is then.
SCORE PREDICTION: 0-0 (Liverpool to win on penalties) | JONES KNOWS’ BEST BET: Under 2.5 goals (5/4 with Sky Bet)
