Newcastle United take on Liverpool in the Carabao Cup final on Sunday.
The Magpies will be backed by over 30,000 fans at Wembley Stadium, hoping that their team will win a first major trophy since 1969.
Newcastle United beat West Ham on Monday night, giving them all the impetus they need to bring the Carabao Cup back to Tyneside. There’s no doubt that Newcastle fans would’ve been watching Liverpool’s game against PSG closely, with Reds boss Arne Slot teasing who could start on Sunday.
Fans will be pleased with the way the game went, Liverpool were beaten on penalties against the French giants after 120 high-intensity minutes.
Newcastle will take positives from their performance, with signs showing that certain players may not be the most confident at spot-kicks after having their efforts saved, but Toon boss Eddie Howe also has his own problems to deal with. Anthony Gordon is suspended while defenders Lewis Hall and Sven Botman are out injured, the former will be out for the season with an ankle problem.
Howe picked Harvey Barnes to play against West Ham – a decision which proved to be the right one with the 27-year-old assisting Bruno Guimaraes‘ winning goal.
Another big talking point was that Liverpool right-back Trent Alexander-Arnold was forced off with an injury late into the second half. Slot has provided an update on his condition.
Photo by Liverpool FC/Liverpool FC via Getty Images
Photo by Liverpool FC/Liverpool FC via Getty Images
Arne Slot on Trent Alexander-Arnold’s injury
Slot was in the stands when Newcastle came to Anfield in February, but he will be on the touchline at Wembley. However, there is a chance he could be without and important first-team player for that game.
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Speaking post-match, Slot provided an update on Alexander-Arnold, who looked in a lot of pain when he came off.
“With Trent, he had to come off. That’s never a good sign,” he said.
“From what I heard from people who saw the images or how he got injured, that didn’t look very good.
“So I would be surprised if he is available for Sunday.”
Defender Ibrahima Konate was also taken off during extra time, but Slot confirmed that his departure was due to fatigue rather than any injury.
Slot was impressed with Newcastle’s defence in the Carabao Cup semi-final win against Arsenal in February, with the Dutchman saying that Howe’s side are ‘aggressive in defending’. Newcastle must now live up to those comments at Wembley on Sunday.
Liverpool’s replacements for Trent Alexander-Arnold
With Slot now saying Alexander-Arnold’s absence looks likely, he must look to the other options he has available at Liverpool.
The most likely replacement would be Conor Bradley, who is an out-and-out right-back. However, Bradley is out with a muscle injury and is not expected to return to Liverpool’s first team until the end of March.
To add more misery for Slot, Joe Gomez, their other option, is also out with a hamstring problem and is not due to return until May.
Gomez was close to joining Newcastle last summer with a £45m move on the cards to tackle the Magpies’ PSR troubles. A medical for Gomez in Newcastle was scheduled, but Howe opted to sell Elliot Anderson and Yankuba Minteh instead.
Their injuries mean that only Jarell Quansah can come in to replace Alexander-Arnold at right-back, but the 22-year-old is more known for playing at centre-back, so he will be in for a tough time against one of Barnes, Joelinton or Joe Willock.