Manchester United v Newcastle United – Carabao Cup Final Preview

The Carabao Cup, or Football League Cup as it is more generally known around the world, has been contested since the early 1960s and it has always been the first piece of silverware won by a team during the course of the season.

This year, the final will take place on Sunday 26^th February at Wembley Stadium with Newcastle United taking on Manchester United in what pits the team in fifth in the Premier League against the team closing on the top two in third.

Currently, Manchester United are in an excellent run of form which has seen them climb above both Tottenham and Newcastle United in the league as well as closing the gap on Manchester City and Arsenal above them.

Newcastle however have had a bit of a stutter in performance, drawing three and losing one of their last four games to drop down to fifth in the Premier League, just outside the Champions League qualification spots.

Despite that, there is no doubt that both managers, Eddie Howe of Newcastle and Manchester United’s Erik Ten Hag, have had superb seasons with their respective teams and it promises to be an exciting final when the two teams kick off on Sunday.

You can enjoy a wealth of pre-game betting on the match with bet365 Sport at present, and don’t forget to check out the In Play betting that will be available on the site when the match is in progress too.

Let’s now take a look at both teams contesting the final in a bit more detail.

Carabao Cup Final – Preview

• Manchester United v Newcastle United
• Venue – Wembley Stadium (90,000 capacity)
• Date – Sunday 26^th February
• Live – On Sky Sports
• Kick Off – 4.30pm GMT

Carabao Cup Final Officials

• Referee – David Coote
• Assistant Referees – Nick Hopton + Tim Wood
• Fourth Official – Simon Hooper
• VAR – Peter Bankes
• Assistant VAR – Eddie Smart

David Coote will referee his first ever major cup final on Sunday. The official has been in charge of a total of 23 games this season in all competitions. He has issued a total of 86 yellow cards, around 3.73 cards per game on average, as well as two red cards over that same period.

Head To Head Record – Manchester United v Newcastle United

• Games Played – 174
• Manchester United Wins – 90
• Newcastle United Wins – 43
• Draws – 41

As you can see, over the years the teams have met 174 times and Manchester United have won more than half of those games, with Newcastle winning just 42, with 41 games being a draw.

However more recent history paints a picture of dominance for Manchester United as since January 2002, Newcastle have beaten United just four times, drawing eight but losing 27 games over that same period.

Football League Cup Record

• 16^th September 2012 – Man Utd 2-1 Newcastle United
• 26^th October 1994 – Newcastle United 2-0 Manchester United
• 27^th October 1976 – Manchester United 7-2 Newcastle United

As you can see, the teams have met three times in this competition, United winning twice, Newcastle once, with Newcastle scoring 5 goals to Manchester United’s 9.

League Cup Final Record

Manchester United have appeared in nine Football League Cup Finals in total, winning their first in 1992 and following that with wins in 2006, 2009, 2010 and 2017.

The Red Devils were beaten finalists in 1983, 1991, 1994 and 2003.

Newcastle United have only reached the League Cup final once previously in 1976, when they were defeated 2-1 by United’s near neighbours Manchester City.

Premier League Comparisons & Trends

• Man Utd – 3^rd, P24, 49pts (+13) 41 goals scored, 28 conceded.
• Newcastle – 5^th, P23, 41pts (+20) 35 goals scored, 15 conceded.

Last Game – Oct 2022 – Manchester United 0-0 Newcastle United

The second successive draw between the teams in the EPL after a 1-1 draw at St James’ Park in December 2021. Prior to that Manchester United had won the last four games scoring 14 goals to Newcastle’s four.

Five of the last six games between the two have seen both teams score and there have been 22 goals scored in the last six games between the teams going back to December 2019.

The Road To Wembley – 2022-23

Manchester United

• Second Round – Bye
• Third Round – v Aston Villa (H) – W 4-2 (Martial 49, Rashford 67, Fernandes 78, McTominay 90+1)
• Fourth Round – v Burnley (H) – W 2-0 (Eriksen 27, Rashford 57)
• Quarter Finals – v Charlton (H) – W 3-0 (Antony 21, Rashford 90, 90+4)
• Semi Final 1^st Leg – v Nottm Forest (A) – W 3-0 (Rashford 6, Weghorst 45, Fernandes 89)
• Semi Final 2^nd Leg – v Nottm Forest (H) – W 2-0 (Martial 73, Fred 76) W 5-0 on aggregate.

Played 5, Won 5, Lost 0, Scored – 14, Conceded 2.

Newcastle United

• Second Round – v Tranmere Rovers (A) – W 2-1 (Lascalles 40, Wood 52)
• Third Round – v Crystal Palace (H) – D 0-0 (W 3-2 on penalties)
• Fourth Round – v Bournemouth (H) – W 1-0 (Smith 67 OG)
• Quarter Finals – v Leicester City (H) – W 2-0 (Burn 60, Joelinton 72)
• Semi Final 1^st Leg – v Southampton (A) – W 1-0 (Joelinton 73)
• Semi Final 2^nd Leg – v Southampton (H) – W 2-1 (S. Longstaff 5,21) W 3-1 on aggregate

Played 6, Won 5, Drawn and won on pens 1, Scored – 8, Conceded 2.

Squads, Team News And Possible Starting XIs

Manchester United Squad

• Manager – Erik Ten Hag
• Goalkeepers – David de Gea, Tom Heaton, Jack Butland
• Defenders – Victor Lindelof, Eric Bailly, Phil Jones, Harry Maguire, Lisandro Martinez, Tyrell Malacia, Raphael Varane, Diogo Dalot, Luke Shaw, Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Brandon Williams, Axel Tuanzebe
• Midfielders – Bruno Fernandes, Marcel Sabitzer, Fred, Casemiro, Facundo Pellestri, Scott McTominay, Kobbie Mainoo
• Forwards – Anthony Martial, Marcus Rashford, Antony, Jadon Sancho, Wout Weghorst, Anthony Elanda, Alejandro Garnacho, Shola Shoretire

Team News

• Players Out Injured – Donny van de Beek, Christian Eriksen
• Players Out Suspended – Mason Greenwood (suspended by club)
• Players Out Cup-Tied – Nobody

Possible Manchester United XI

4-2-3-1 Formation

• GK – David de Gea
• DR – Aaron Wan-Bissaka
• DL – Luke Shaw
• DC – Raphael Varane
• DC – Lisandro Martinez
• DMC – Casemiro
• DMC – Fred
• AMC – Bruno Fernandes
• AML – Jadon Sancho
• AMR – Antony
• AC – Marcus Rashford

United should be at almost full strength with only Christian Eriksen missing from their strongest starting 11. De Gea will get the nod in goal with Tom Heaton on the bench most likely.

Newcastle United Squad

• Manager – Eddie Howe
• Goalkeepers – Loris Karius, Mark Gillespie
• Defenders – Sven Botman, Dan Burn, Fabian Schar, Jamaal Lascalles, Matt Targett, Jamal Lewis, Paul Dummett, Kieran Trippier, Javier Manquillo,
• Midfielders – Bruno Guimaraes, Joe Willock, Sean Longstaff, Joelinton, Matt Ritchie, Elliott Anderson, Ryan Fraser, Miguel Almiron, Jacob Murphy
• Forwards – Callum Wilson, Alexander Isak

Team News

• Players Out Injured – Matt Targett, Emil Krafth
• Players Out Suspended – Nick Pope (GK)
• Players Out Cup-Tied – Martin Dubravka (GK), Harrison Ashby (DR), Anthony Gordon (MC)

Possible Newcastle United XI

4-3-3 Formation

• GK – Loris Karius
• DR – Kieran Trippier
• DL – Dan Burn
• DC – Fabian Schar
• DC – Sven Botman
• MC – Sean Longstaff
• MC – Bruno Guimaraes
• MC – Joelinton
• AML – Allan Saint-Maximin
• AMR – Miguel Almiron
• AC – Callum Wilson

The big news is the Newcastle goalkeeping situation with both first and second choices (Pope & Dubravka) out, Loris Karius looks likely to start in an unlikely return to the limelight.

Carabao Cup Final Predictions & Tips

This should be an interesting game but I feel that Manchester United just have the slight edge in two key areas, they have current form very much on their side and they also have much greater experience of these kind of games compared to Newcastle.

On a positive note for Newcastle, they have the best defensive record in the EPL, held United at Old Trafford earlier on in the season and they will have had eight days to prepare for this game, while United will have had less than half that.

However, the loss of both Pope and Dubravka, the latter cup tied because he played for Manchester United when out on loan with them in this competition earlier this season, is a huge loss and playing Karius is a gamble.

With that in mind, here’s my tips for the game:

• Full Time Result – Manchester United to win – 6/5
• Result and BTTS – Man Utd and Yes – 7/2
• Correct Score – Manchester United 2-1 Newcastle United – 8/1
• Anytime Goalscorer – Marcus Rashford (Man Utd) – 13/10

Tune in on Sunday afternoon to see how these tips pan out and who lifts the famous trophy!