Team News…
Lucas Paquetá and Vladimír Coufal will hope to return after missing the wins over Arsenal and Leicester City, while forwards Niclas Füllkrug and Crysencio Summerville (both hamstring) are set to remain on the sidelines alongside long-term absentee Michail Antonio.
For Newcastle United, England winger Anthony Gordon is suspended, while full-back Lewis Hall has been ruled out through injury. Centre-backs Jamaal Lascelles and Sven Botman could return from knee injuries, while leading scorer Alexander Isak looks set to start.
Opposition…
What have Arsenal, Aston Villa, Birmingham City, Blackburn Rovers, Chelsea, Coventry City, Derby County, Everton, Ipswich Town, Leeds United, Leicester City, Liverpool, Luton Town, Manchester City, Manchester United, Middlesbrough, Norwich City, Nottingham Forest, Oxford United, Portsmouth, Sheffield Wednesday, Southampton, Stoke City, Sunderland, Swansea City, Tottenham Hotspur, West Ham United, Wigan Athletic, Wimbledon and Wolverhampton Wanderers got in common?
Those 30 clubs named have all lifted a major trophy since Newcastle United last did so.
It was 11 June 1969 when goals from Bobby Moncur, Preben Arentoft and Alan Foggon secured a 3-2 second-leg win over Újpesti Dózsa at the Megyeri úti Stadion in the Hungarian capital, Budapest, and the club won the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup (the predecessor to the present-day UEFA Europa League).
Nearly 56 years on, Magpies supporters are still waiting to see one of their heroes emulate captain Moncur by raising a piece of silverware above his head.
Newcastle have gone close on numerous occasions, losing three FA Cup and two League Cup finals and finishing as runners-up in the Premier League in consecutive seasons in 1995/96 - despite being 12 points clear at the top of the table at one stage - and 1996/97.
The Toon Army have also had to endure four relegations from the top-flight - albeit they had three second-tier titles and another promotion to celebrate - and the club’s incredibly loyal but long-suffering fans are craving a big success, as that memorable night in Hungary slips ever further into the past.
An October 2021 takeover by the Saudi Public Investment Fund, PCP Capital Partners and RB Sports & Media renewed hopes on Tyneside that Newcastle’s long wait for glory would soon be over - albeit it did not prove popular with the club’s Premier League rivals, who subsequently voted to tighten the league’s financial controls in order to limit Newcastle’s - and other clubs’ - seemingly unlimited spending power.
Three-and-a-half years on and Newcastle United have enjoyed improved fortunes on the pitch under head coach Eddie Howe, who was appointed weeks after the takeover was completed.
In 2022/23, the Magpies reached the 2023 EFL Cup final, but lost to Manchester United, and finished fourth in the Premier League - their highest since 2002/03 - but still silverware remained out of their reach.
On Sunday week, Newcastle travel to Wembley Stadium to take on Liverpool in the 2025 EFL Cup final and, if things go their way, that long, long wait could finally be over.