Newcastle United supporters did not get their main wish and will play Liverpool rather than Tottenham Hotspur in the League Cup final at Wembley Stadium on Sunday, March 16.
The Reds overturned a one-goal first-leg deficit in the second leg of their semi-final at Anfield. Cody Gakpo opened the scoring in the first half to level the tie, on aggregate, before Mohamed Salah, Dominik Szoboszlai and Virgil van Dijk goals completed the turnaround upon the restart.
Two thousand readers responded to a poll asking who they wanted to face in the final before kick-off. The verdict was clear; 86 per cent voted for Tottenham, while 14 per cent chose Liverpool.
Newcastle have not lost to either team this campaign. However, they have already done the double over Spurs, winning 2-1 at St James’ Park at the start of September before then beating them 1-2 away in north London last month. Their only meeting with the Reds to date was the 3-3 draw at home in early December when Fabian Schar scored a last-minute equaliser.
The reverse fixture at Anfield is their final match before March’s international break, two-and-a-half weeks before the final is played. Only one other fixture separates those games as the Magpies go away to West Ham United the weekend before.
Newcastle have previously played Liverpool in the League Cup just twice before. The last was a quarter-final tie in 1998, which went to extra-time before Michael Owen and Robbie Fowler scored to ensure their progression to the last-four that season.
Both teams met for the first time in the League Cup – at the fourth round stage – three years earlier when Steve Watson scored the only goal at Anfield to knock out the then-holders. However, they have met nine times before in the FA Cup, including the 1974 final, which Liverpool won 3-0 in what proved to be Bill Shankly’s final game at the Reds’ helm.
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