Liverpool v Newcastle: Eddie Howe's men aim to end 70-year Wembley curse in League Cup final

The National

15-03-2025

This weekend will see fans of Newcastle United making a pilgrimage to London in their tens of thousands ahead of the League Cup final against Liverpool at Wembley Stadium. Since beating Manchester City 3-1 to win the FA Cup in 1955, the roughly 900km round trip for showpiece matches at the famous ground have gone the same way for the black and white hordes: a journey south full of hope, if not expectation, followed by a despondent trudge back north after a chastening defeat. The humbling 70-year wait for a major domestic trophy has seen Newcastle lose five Wembley finals – three in the FA Cup, two in the League Cup – with a solitary goal celebrated. The latest attempt to lift their first silverware since the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup – considered the precursor to the Uefa Cup that would later morph into the Europa League – in 1969, has seen a build-up that suggests the club's Wembley woes will not be coming to an end any time soon. As if taking on Premier League champions-elect Liverpool is not challenging enough, Newcastle will be without three key players. Defenders Lewis Hall and Sven Botman are out injured, while winger Anthony Gordon is suspended after being sent off in the FA Cup fifth-round defeat at home to Brighton. It is a familiar tale for the Magpies that has sparked whispered talk of a curse on Tyneside, such has been their luck – or rather lack of it – in the three finals they have reached during the Premier League era. The back-to-back FA Cup final losses at the old Wembley Stadium in 1998 and 1999 were unfortunate in that Newcastle came up against two of the finest teams in Premier League history. The first saw Arsene Wenger's Arsenal seal a 2-0 win thanks to goals from Marc Overmars and Nicolas Anelka – clinching the Gunners' first league-and-cup double since 1971. Newcastle manager Kenny Dalglish called it a 'bitter-sweet afternoon' for his team who twice hit the woodwork when trailing 1-0. 'They are a very good side and worthy double winners,' the Scotsman said of Arsenal. A year later, Ruud Gullit was in charge but the scoreline remained the same – a 2-0 defeat to a Manchester United side who sealed their third double in five years after goals from Teddy Sheringham and Paul Scholes. 'We were punished for our mistakes,' admitted Dutch manager Gullit. 'In the end, we had to be thankful they did not get three, four or five.' Days later, Alex Ferguson's team would go on to complete a famous treble, when they defeated Bayern Munich with two last-gasp finishes from Sheringham and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer to win the Uefa Champions League final. It would be 24 years before Newcastle would return to a now rebuilt Wembley for a League Cup final, but the result – and opponents – would be all too familiar. In the first full season since the arrival of the club's new Saudi Arabian-led consortium and manager Eddie Howe, Manchester United would again stand in their way to ending the now infamous trophy drought. But, as with this season, the build-up was fraught. Goalkeeper Nick Pope was suspended after being sent off in a league defeat against Liverpool, while second choice Martin Dubravka was cup-tied having already played in the competition while on loan at United. It meant Newcastle were forced into handing Loris Karius the unlikeliest of debuts that saw the former Liverpool keeper beaten twice by a Casemiro header and a deflected Marcus Rashford strike. 'It hurts immensely,' said Howe, whose team would go on to finish fourth in the league and qualify for the Uefa Champions League for the first time in two decades. 'It feels like you have failed. A negative sea of emotions hit you but, with defeat, sometimes you can take positives. 'The players have done incredibly well … but we are not the finished article. We are coming at this from a totally different place and it only gets harder because the competition will improve.' And so it proved in the following campaign when Newcastle's Champions League dream was over at the group stage, while they were knocked out in the quarter-finals of both domestic cups. A seventh-place Premier League finish also saw them miss out on European football altogether. After the FA Cup loss to Brighton a few weeks ago, trophy hopes this season now rely solely on beating Liverpool. And Newcastle will be hoping their opponents will be feeling the effects of a draining Champions League last-16 defeat on penalties to Paris Saint-Germain on Wednesday night. That loss also saw Trent Alexander-Arnold hobble off the pitch at Anfield with an ankle injury that left manager Arne Slot admitting he 'would be surprised' if the England right-back is fit for the final. Newcastle, meanwhile, enjoyed a much-needed Premier League win at West Ham United on Monday which lifted them to sixth and to within two points of fourth-placed Chelsea. And captain Bruno Guimaraes, who scored the only goal of the game at the London Stadium, has called on his teammates 'to make history' this weekend and secure that elusive trophy. 'I believe that we can win,' said the Brazilian, whose team defeated Arsenal 4-0 over two legs in the semi-final. 'In a final everything could happen. I believe our fans can make a difference. 'For us, it is like the World Cup. We want to make history for this club. It is a long time for the fans without a trophy. 'We know we're going to play against one of the best teams. Hopefully we can go to Wembley and get the title.'