PREVIEW: Slot Eyes First Liverpool Crown Against Newcastle In League Cup Final

In Sunday’s League Cup final against a Newcastle side hoping to end the club’s 56-year wait for major silverware, Liverpool will bring home the first trophy of the Arne Slot era.

Runaway Premier League champions Liverpool travel to Wembley in the first final of the English domestic season, aiming to overthrow the bitter taste of their Champions League defeat on Tuesday against Paris Saint-Germain.

In the final 16 second leg at Anfield, PSG gave the Reds a penalty win of 4-1.

In Slot’s successful first season in charge, who succeeded Jurgen Klopp last year, it was a rare blow.

The Reds are 15 points clear of the top of the Premier League, making it possible for them to win their 20th English title, their first since 2020.

That will mark Slot’s smooth transition from Liverpool to the real world.

The Dutchman wants to add yet another League Cup to the Anfield trophy collection first, though.

The League Cup has been won by Liverpool ten times in a row and they are looking to win it for the third time in four years. They defeated Chelsea in the final of last season.

Without injured right-back Trent Alexander-Arnold, Slot said, “You play games like this to win it, and that’s what we’re going to try to do.”

You can’t take a final for granted, especially not in this nation, where there are so many talented teams, so we’re really looking forward to it. ”

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After PSG’s disastrous treble bid was ruined by PSG, Slot, who will be making his first ever appearance at Wembley, hopes Liverpool can bounce back quickly.

After losing against Paris Saint-Germain, it’s a great time to be there. Perhaps this game is the best, he said.

  Chance to create history

Newcastle have endured decades of underachievement and self-inflicted wounds that have rendered them a laughing stock for a long period of time, aside from a brief period when Kevin Keegan’s team faced a title challenge in the 1990s.

When a Saudi-backed consortium acquired unpopular owner Mike Ashley and made the decision to appoint Eddie Howe as their manager in 2021, all of that changed.

A Champions League appearance in 2023-2024 highlights Newcastle’s revival, turning them from relegation hopefuls to silverware contenders.

Newcastle are still awaiting the outcome of their first major championship win since the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup, the organization’s predecessor, in 1969.

The 1955 FA Cup was the Magpies’ final significant domestic success, and they have since lost five finals, including the League Cup.

Never have won a League Cup, with their most recent loss coming against Manchester United in 2023.

30 different English teams have won silverware since the Magpies won the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup, and Liverpool has won 38 major awards in that span, including an FA Cup final victory over Newcastle at the clubs’ final showpiece meeting in 1974.

Howe has urged his players to embrace the chance to become legends by putting an end to their trophy drought in the face of the weight of history.

We want to disrupt the trophy-waiting system. He claimed that this is not a negative.

It has the potential to make history and be remembered in a positive way, according to “we’re trying to look at it the other way.” ”

In their most recent Premier League game against Newcastle in February, Liverpool fought back to defeat them 2-0.

The absence of injured defenders Lewis Hall, Sven Botman, and Jamaal Lascelles, who have both been suspended from England, makes the Magpies’ task even more difficult.

However, Howe is confident that Newcastle won’t freeze in front of a crowded audience on television.

He continued, “We’ve stayed competitive in big games in the main.” Our approach is flexible, but we also have a clear plan. ”

Source: Channels TV