The first major silverware of 2024/25 will be claimed on Sunday, as Liverpool face Newcastle in the Carabao Cup final.
Liverpool have won this competition more times than anyone else, while Newcastle have yet to lift the trophy.
Here’s our statistical and historical preview of the Wembley showdown between two of the English game’s most passionately supported clubs.
Will Newcastle get revenge for 1974?
Liverpool and Newcastle’s only previous Wembley meeting came more than 50 years ago, in the 1974 FA Cup final. Kevin Keegan bagged a brace as the Reds ran out 3-0 winners to claim their sixth and last major trophy under Bill Shankly.
The clubs have only met twice before in the League Cup, with Newcastle winning 1-0 at Anfield in the 1995/96 fourth round and Liverpool triumphing 2-0 at St. James’ Park in the 1997/98 quarter-finals.
Ecstasy vs agony
The last time Newcastle got their hands on major silverware, the League Cup didn’t even exist. Jackie Milburn, Bobby Mitchell and George Hannah were on the scoresheet in a 3-1 victory over Manchester City in the 1955 FA Cup final, as the Magpies lifted that particular trophy for the third time in five years.
In the 70 years since, Liverpool have added 41 major honours to their trophy cabinet, winning the League Cup alone a record 10 times. Newcastle, meanwhile, have lost three FA Cup finals, two League Cup finals – most recently to Manchester United in 2023 – and finished as top-flight runners-up twice.
Newcastle did win the 1968/69 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup, but there’s some debate as to whether that ought to be considered a major trophy.
A domestic cup with an international flavour
Should Newcastle end that long, long wait for a major trophy, Eddie Howe will become the first English manager to lift the League Cup since Steve McClaren with Middlesbrough in 2004.
Since then, the competition has been won by coaches from the following countries:
- Scotland (Alex Ferguson, Alex McLeish, Kenny Dalglish)
- Spain (Juande Ramos, Pep Guardiola)
- Portugal (Jose Mourinho)
- Denmark (Michael Laudrup)
- Chile (Manuel Pellegrini)
- Germany (Jurgen Klopp)
- Netherlands (Erik ten Hag)
Howe, who guided Bournemouth to the 2014/15 Championship title, is aiming for the biggest trophy of his career, while Arne Slot could become the first Liverpool boss to deliver silverware in his first season since Rafael Benitez 20 years ago.
