Manchester United vs Newcastle United

Wembley Stadium forms the backdrop for a blockbuster League Cup final between Manchester United and Newcastle United.

Brimming with confidence following a 4-3 aggregate victory over runaway La Liga leaders Barcelona in their mouth-watering Europa League knockout playoff tie, Manchester United will be looking to win a major trophy for the first time since 2017. The ‘Red Devils’ are in familiar territory, with this being their 53rd Wembley outing and their tenth appearance in the League Cup final (W5, L4). Their most recent shot at the prize yielded a 3-2 win over Southampton in the 2017 showpiece under Jose Mourinho. Unbeaten in their last six Premier League meetings with Newcastle (W4, D2), Erik ten Hag’s men will be confident about maintaining a positive all-time H2H record in the League Cup (W2, L1).

On the other hand, Newcastle United’s first foray into the League Cup final since a 2-1 defeat to Manchester City in the 1975/76 title decider comes amid a rough patch. Eddie Howe’s charges have gone winless in three Premier League games in the lead-up to this fixture (D2, L1), including a disheartening 2-0 home loss to Liverpool last weekend. In addition to rolling over, Newcastle lost first-choice goalkeeper Nick Pope to a straight red card, which could force Howe to use error-prone Loris Karius for the first time. That hardly bodes well as the ‘Magpies’ hope to end an embarrassing eight-game losing run at Wembley since a 3-1 demolition of Man City in the 1954/55 FA Cup final. Moreover, they’ve lost their last four major finals, most recently going down to Man Utd in the 1999 FA Cup showpiece.