LIVERPOOL, England — When Liverpool head coach Arne Slot addressed the media ahead of the Premier League clash with Southampton last weekend, he described the fixture as “the first of three finals.”
It was a rallying cry to both players and fans, setting the stage for a week that looked destined to define Liverpool’s season. Ultimately, the 3-1 comeback win over Southampton — coupled with more dropped points for second-place Arsenal in a 1-1 draw against Manchester United on Sunday — put Slot’s side 15 points clear at the top of the table and, with nine games left to play, the Reds are closing on what would be only a second league title since 1990.
However, Tuesday night’s agonizing Champions League exit on penalties at the hands of Paris Saint-Germain has added considerable weight to the final installment of Liverpool’s trilogy: this weekend’s Carabao Cup showpiece against Newcastle United.
With the competition having delivered Jurgen Klopp’s last trophy as Liverpool manager in 2024, a triumph at Wembley Stadium on Sunday would be a fitting way to open Slot’s account. Liverpool have won the League Cup a record 10 times across the competition’s 64-year history, and continuing that love affair this weekend would set the tone for what looks to be a memorable end to the campaign.
Standing in their way are a Newcastle team who, with the financial backing from a consortium of the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF) since 2021, have transformed from Premier League also-rans into genuine European challengers. Having lost out to Manchester United in the 2023 Carabao Cup final, Eddie Howe’s side are aiming to end the club’s 70-year trophy drought against Liverpool on Sunday.
So there is plenty at stake for both team, with the game likely to shape the course of their seasons.
‘That’s what you play football for; to play in finals’
As the Liverpool players trudged down the tunnel after defeat to PSG on Tuesday night, the disappointment inside Anfield was palpable.
It was a European journey that had promised so much, with Slot’s side excelling in the revamped Champions League, winning seven straight games in the league phase to finish top of the 36-team table. Their reward for such formidable form was a round-of-16 tie against a PSG team who are flying under the stewardship of Luis Enrique and, after snatching a fortuitous 1-0 victory at the Parc des Princes in the first leg, Liverpool were beaten by the same scoreline in the reverse fixture, ultimately exiting the competition on penalties.
The Premier League leaders were ousted by the finest of margins and, while that may offer some comfort to Slot and his players in time, it was clear the immediate effects of the defeat were painful and profound.
Darwin Núñez and Curtis Jones, who both saw their spot-kicks saved by goalkeeper Gianluigi Donarumma, were inconsolable at the final whistle, while Mohamed Salah — so often Liverpool’s talisman this season — looked to be in tears as he left the pitch.
For Slot, this week could prove the most exacting test yet of his man-management skills as he works to ensure his players recover from both the physical and emotional repercussions of Tuesday night when they line up at Wembley.
“The good thing is that we play a final on Sunday, so mentally that’s the best you can ask for,” Slot said after the PSG game. “That’s what you play football for: to play in finals.”
Last season, Liverpool’s injury-ravaged side defied belief to beat big-spending Chelsea to the Carabao Cup, with 10 first-team players — including Salah, Nunez and Dominik Szoboszlai — missing the final. Klopp was forced to turn to youth to plug the gaps, with five of the players who finished the game having progressed through the club’s academy ranks.
Slot is likely to field a much stronger and more experienced side, though he will be without the services of right-back Trent Alexander-Arnold, who limped off against PSG, while the fitness levels of several other players will need to be considered after a grueling 120 minutes against the French champions.
Newcastle on the cusp of history
Like Liverpool, Newcastle go into this weekend’s clash without a full complement of players to choose from.
Winger Anthony Gordon is suspended, following his red card against Brighton & Hove Albion earlier this month, while defensive trio Lewis Hall, Sven Botman and Jamaal Lascelles remain sidelined with injury. Crucially, though, star striker Alexander Isak has overcome some recent fitness problems in time to feature, having missed the recent 2-0 defeat at Anfield.
With Gordon absent, it is the Sweden international who Newcastle supporters will be pinning their hopes on as he continues to enjoy a glittering individual campaign. Isak is, by some distance, Newcastle’s top scorer this term, with 19 goals in the Premier League. He caused plenty of problems for the Liverpool defense in the pulsating 3-3 draw between the sides back in December and will be determined to show why many of Europe’s top clubs have him on their radar ahead of the summer transfer window despite a valuation of around £150 million.
For Newcastle, beating the league leaders to the trophy this weekend is one way to convince Isak that he can fulfil his personal ambitions of silverware at St James’ Park, and Howe is confident his players have learned valuable lessons from their last trip to Wembley.
“It does feel different and the whole thing this season has felt different in the sense that we’ve just gone about our business in a really calm, controlled way,” Howe said in his prematch news conference. “There’s been a lot less emotion, there’s been a lot less noise outside, and hopefully that helps us in our performance.”
It speaks to the difference in the landscapes of the two clubs that while this is the biggest game of Newcastle’s season, it is arguably not even Liverpool’s most important game this week.
A victory for the Tyneside club would instantly catapult Howe and his players into Newcastle folklore; for Slot & Co., only the deliverance of another league title will afford them that same status.
But winning is an intoxicating habit and, even if Liverpool crave more illustrious honors this term, a winning the Carabao Cup would be the perfect way to herald the start of what many hope will be a successful new era at Anfield.
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