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The Reds will take on Newcastle United at Wembley this Sunday.
Liverpool have the chance to get their hands on their first trophy of the season this weekend as they gear up for the Carabao Cup final. The Reds will battle it out against Newcastle United on Sunday, looking to retain the last title won under Jurgen Klopp by lifting the first of the Arne Slot era.
Liverpool have been hit with some bad luck in the lead up to the final. Spirits were dampened earlier this week when they crashed out of the Champions League at the hands of Paris Saint-Germain. Despite edging out a win at Parc des Princes, the Reds couldn’t make the Anfield advantage count against the French champions in the second leg.
An out-of-sorts penalty shootout from Liverpool saw only Mohamed Salah convert his spot-kick. Both Darwin Nunez and Curtis Jones had their efforts saved by Gianluigi Donnarumma, sealing the Reds’ exit.
Paul Merson predicts bold Arne Slot decision
Nunez has come under fire for some of his performances this season and there’s a lot of speculation surrounding his future at Anfield. His penalty miss against PSG sparked further talks of him leaving but Paul Merson has backed the Uruguayan as the best option up front for Liverpool this weekend.
Writing in his latest column for Sportskeeda, Merson said: “Darwin Nunez missed his penalty against PSG in the shootout, but I would still want him to start this game against Newcastle. He is someone who always creates problems to defenders.
“If I'm Dan Burn or Fabian Schar, I want to play against Diogo Jota on Sunday. Jota is someone who likes to drop deep, whereas Nunez would work those centre-halves a lot more by constantly engaging with them. I doubt he will get a chance after the penalty miss, but he's a menace inside the box and no defender wants to play against him in a final like this.”
The Sky Sports pundit also backed Newcastle to have a chance at pushing Liverpool for a result on Sunday. Reflecting on the Reds’ current fitness concerns, Merson said Magpies fans ‘should definitely feel hopeful’ heading into Wembley.
“Now I think they have a chance though. I think this game will end 1-1 and go to penalties. If I had to pick a side to win on penalties, I'd choose Liverpool. I'm only saying that because I know Liverpool will turn up for this game and I can't say the same for Newcastle.”
Liverpool injury latest
After some recent blows, Slot has confirmed who will be missing from the clash with Newcastle this weekend.
“Trent is not available. He will not be at the final but is still to be assessed. I do expect him back before end of the season,” the manager confirmed in his pre-match press conference on Friday.
“Ibou Konate didn't train yesterday as it was a day off and the day before was recovery. I expect him to train today.”
Joe Gomez and Conor Bradley are also ruled out of the fixture.
In other news,I heard Arne Slot's joke during Liverpool press conference before Carabao Cup final - it said everything