Liverpool and Newcastle will meet in the Carabao Cup final
Liverpool and Newcastle meet in the Carabao Cup final today, with the first major trophy of the season up for grabs.
Liverpool booked their spot in the final by beating Tottenham 4-1 on aggregate in the semi-finals, while Newcastle defeated Arsenal 4-0 on aggregate. Arne Slot's side are the favourites to win the competition for an 11th time, but Newcastle are hoping to lift their first major trophy since 1969.
There is also some prize money up for grabs, with the winners set to bank £100,000 and the runners-up set to receive £50,000. That figure is dwarfed by the amount of money on offer for winning the FA Cup, with the winner earning a whopping £2million.
Liverpool are heading into the final after they were knocked out of the Champions League by Paris Saint-Germain on Tuesday and Reds boss Arne Slot believes it is the "perfect game" for his side.
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"It's maybe the perfect game but I think our nine games in the league are going to be finals as well so if we had to play for the league on Sunday I think we would have been up for it also," Slot said in his pre-match press conference. "But yeah, it's always nice to play for a trophy, it's always nice to win something.
"Although it is nine finals in the Premier League the upcoming [next league] game will not be the one where we can win something, so now this is the last game of the tournament and it's against Newcastle. So, it's going to be an interesting occasion and something to look forward to."
Newcastle boss Eddie Howe, meanwhile, is feeling confident about his side's chances of victory. "I want the players to attack the game and give a good representation of us," Howe said. "The spirit has been really good... we've had an increased unity and belief after Monday's win [over West Ham ].
The winner will bank £100,000 in prize money
"Preparation has been very good. We are positive. Our destiny is in our own hands. It is about us delivering a great performance. We've had a really tough run in the Carabao Cup. We have gone from round to round.
"There has been a lot less noise and emotion and hopefully that helps us in our performance in our game. We have been very much focused on our game plan. We are very positive.
"There are always decisions to make - that will be no different for this game. We don't have a huge pool of players - we have a very tight squad. We are in a good place after the win on Monday night and that was a big thing for us. The players are in a good place. Everyone wants to play in these bigger games."
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