Liverpool vs Newcastle in Carabao Cup final: How prepared are Eddie Howe’s side to win? | Football Newsnews24

I handed Eddie Howe a bottle of water before our cup final preview interview last week and he asked jokingly if the bottle had vodka in it.

Of course, it was said with a smile from the Newcastle boss, and our subsequent interview underlined he was already looking forward positively, but he must have been hoping for something a little stronger than water to deal with a manic three days that saw him lose three of his best players to injury and suspension.

Anthony Gordon’s FA Cup straight red card meant that he would miss the next three games – including Sunday’s Carabao Cup Final against his boyhood club, Liverpool.

It was a hammer blow to Newcastle, as Gordon is a match-winner and was a nailed-on starter for Wembley. As if that was not bad enough, Howe was then dealt two further blows with the news that defenders Lewis Hall and Sven Botman would require surgery and with that extended spells on the sidelines.

Hall has been one of the club’s star turns this season at left-back, and Botman is regarded as their best defender. Three of the best players, all ruled out within a damaging 72 hours.

It was all very Newcastle; many of the Geordie faithful have felt for a while that their club is cursed, and this trio of hits wrote into that script. The Gordon red card especially bore a striking resemblance to the sending off of Nick Pope the week before the Carabao Cup final two years ago, meaning Howe had to pitch third-choice goalkeeper Loris Karius into nets at Wembley for his debut.

Newcastle were affected by the loss of Pope and debutant Karius failed to keep out Manchester United as they eased to a 2-0 win and lifted the trophy.

But despite all of that, the mood remains high. Even without the trio of absentees, Newcastle have real match-winners in their side, and there is a feeling that their midfield trio of Bruno Guimaraes, Sandro Tonali and Joelinton are as good as anything that Liverpool boss Arne Slot could field.

Newcastle boss Howe also will not let any individual wallow in self-pity. It’s simply not what he does. His managerial mantra is “never too high, never too low” and in choppy waters like those of last week the 47-year-old comes into his own.

Howe knows he still has a stronger squad than two years ago, and on their day his side have shown they can match anyone. In a one-off match like a cup final, anything can happen and last week’s bad luck will be the last thing on his players’ minds when they take to the hallowed Wembley turf on Sunday. As Guimaraes said on Monday, this is Newcastle’s World Cup final.

Sunday 16th March 3:30pm


Kick off 4:30pm

What sort of effect has Monday night’s win over West Ham had?

It felt like one of the most important results of the season for the club. They needed a win for a number of reasons, but mainly to lift the mood going into the final. It was not a classy performance but it was one of grit and determination – and proved that the togetherness remained despite the negativity of the week before.

Heading into a cup final on the back of three defeats would have been a difficult situation to lift themselves from. But that 1-0 win, clean sheet and all, was just what the doctor ordered. And you could see that in the celebrations on the final whistle.

Rarely does Howe celebrate a win in that manner, but he knew the significance of the result in terms of momentum and morale. And the connection between players and fans was there for all to see as the players serenaded the travelling fans long into the night.

On top of the battling win at the London Stadium, another significant outcome was the absence of any new injuries. At his press conference on Friday, Howe confirmed he has a clean bill of health except the aforementioned. That was a real concern for many of the fans, who were scared of the cup final curse striking again.

Personally I’d be slightly concerned that star striker Alexander Isak didn’t look at his electrifying best at West Ham, but it was another 75 minutes under the belt for the Swede and there was mitigation in the fact he was up against a deep-lying Hammers back five. Liverpool will of course come on to Newcastle on the big Wembley pitch, and that plays into the striker’s hands… something he admitted himself this morning.

How will Newcastle overcome their selection issues?

Despite the absence of star trio Gordon, Botman and Hall, Newcastle have enough in their ranks to send out a strong starting 11.

Big question marks have surrounded who Howe’s No 1 goalkeeper is, but I am almost certain that Pope will continue between the sticks at the expense of Martin Dubravka. This decision will split the Newcastle fans, but I feel that Pope’s physical stature will get him the nod at Wembley despite only recently returning from injury.

Botman hasn’t played much this season anyway so it will be the usual back two of Fabian Schar and Dan Burn that are named on Sunday.

Hall’s absence is not so straightforward. The only natural replacement at left-back would be Matt Targett but he has yet to start a Premier League match this season and it would be a big ask to try and stop Mo Salah without momentum. If Botman had been fit, Burn could have shuffled over to left-back, but I think Howe will continue with the right-footed Tino Livramento on the left, and the experienced Kieran Trippier on the right to the back four.

I feel the inclusion of Trippier will give the team more leadership, and while Livramento does not look the most comfortable going forward on the left, he has the pace and physicality to best deal with the threat of Liverpool’s star man. Hall will be a big loss in an attacking sense though, and he controlled Salah well at Anfield two weeks ago.

The other big decision Howe must make will be over who he plays wide left in place of Gordon. I cannot make my mind up on how Howe will go on this.

Harvey Barnes would be the natural choice and he will not have done himself any harm with a decent enough performance on Monday at West Ham, but I cannot shake off a sneaky feeling the Newcastle boss will play both Joelinton and Joe Willock and ask the two of them to interchange on the left. This worked well in previous seasons but has not been seen as much due to a succession of injuries to both players.

They both know each other’s games well and dovetail nicely. It would also give Newcastle an extra man in midfield when defending and give Livramento cover, up against Salah.

But the other thing to consider is the injury to Trent Alexander-Arnold. Without his attacking verve on the right, might Howe opt to put the more attacking Barnes up against an out-of-position right back in the shape of Wataru Endo or Jarell Quansah?

Whatever the decision, Howe still has choices. But last week’s loss of Gordon, Hall and Botman – all three left-siders – was costly.

What does this final mean for the city in comparison to two years ago?

Well the trophy drought has increased by another two years, so with that of course comes more pressure. But in a number of ways the expectation is less than the final against Manchester United in 2023. Mainly because Newcastle face the best team in the country this time around, whereas Manchester United were not in the best of places back then.

I think the fact Newcastle are the underdogs suits them this time around. The fans are travelling in hope more than expectation, and while another Cup final defeat will be hard to take due to the fact it extends the trophy drought further, there is understanding that Newcastle face the stiffest test of all if they are to get their hands on the silverware.

But they have not had it easy getting to Wembley this time around, eliminating Chelsea, Nottingham Forest, Brentford and Arsenal on the way. So why not one more?

The additional subplot is Liverpool’s Champions League exit at the hands of PSG in midweek, ironically the team that Newcastle themselves thumped 4-1 in the same competition last season.

Will Tuesday night’s emotion at Anfield deflate Liverpool, or the opposite? It will be intriguing. If Liverpool turn up at their best they will win, but if they are affected by what happened midweek Newcastle then have the players who can take advantage and write their names into club folklore.

And then everyone in the city will be on the vodkas, not just the manager…