Liverpool and Newcastle will compete in the 2025 Carabao Cup final this Sunday at Wembley.
The two clubs are having great seasons as they look on course to achieve their Premier League objectives and adding a Carabao Cup to their campaign would be a welcome bonus.
For Newcastle, this Sunday’s cup final will mean a lot more as the Tyneside club have not tasted success since winning the FA Cup against Man City back in 1955.
Meanwhile, Liverpool are the record holders of the EFL Cup and have won the competition in two of the last three years.
History could have a part to play at Wembley and it certainly has for Gary Neville as it has influenced the former Man United star’s prediction for the Carabao Cup final.
Photo by Stu Forster/Getty Images
Photo by Stu Forster/Getty Images
Gary Neville predicts the Carabao Cup final between Liverpool and Newcastle
Newcastle enter the Carabao Cup final on Sunday off the back of a 1-0 win over West Ham this week and will have been boosted after watching Liverpool’s defeat to PSG after being dragged all the way to a penalty shootout.
Liverpool also lost Trent Alexander-Arnold to injury on Tuesday night, while on that front Alexander Isak will be fit to face the Reds after recent fitness concerns.
Despite this, Neville has picked Liverpool to beat Newcastle 2-0 on Sunday, stating the Magpies’ history at Wembley as the main reason.
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“Newcastle never play well at Wembley,” Neville stated on the latest episode of Stick To Football. “You watch Newcastle at Wembley and see all them fans that travel like six, seven hours and you are like ‘go on, give them something, go on and surprise them.’
“In 1998 they didn’t turn up and in 99 they didn’t turn up. They’ve been to two FA Cup finals and they never turned up. It is the pressure and weight of being there.”
Howe will be looking to change this at the weekend as Newcastle’s history in cup finals should give Liverpool fans a boost ahead of the Wembley showpiece.
Liverpool should be encouraged by Newcastle’s cup final history
Newcastle’s last trophy came in 1955 but the Tyneside club have competed in many finals since that day with the latest being in 2023 where they lost to Man United 2-0 in the EFL Cup finale at Wembley.
That was only the second time they have been to the final of the League Cup with their other defeat coming at the hands of Man City in 1976.
When it comes to the FA Cup, Liverpool were the victors in the 1974 edition of the competition over the Tyneside outfit, while Newcastle would fall short again in 1998 and 1999 against Arsenal and Man United.
History is not on Howe’s side heading into Sunday and it is a match that could be influenced by what version of Liverpool shows up.
Arne Slot’s men will either be super motivated after their defeat to PSG or the 120 minutes they played on Tuesday could become apparent the further the contest goes on.