Newcastle United will face Liverpool in the Carabao Cup Final after the Reds disposed of Tottenham Hotspur in their semi-final second leg at Anfield. Arne Slot’s men eased to a 4-0 win on the night and a 4-1 aggregate victory.
It means the Premier League leaders will be Eddie Howe’s opponents on March 16 at Wembley. Slot’s side have been in scintillating form this season, brushing aside almost everyone at home and in Europe as they stay on course for an unprecedented quadruple.
However, Newcastle will be confident of ending their 70-year domestic wait for a trophy when the two sides meet at the famous stadium. The Magpies have given Liverpool arguably one of their toughest tests of the season when the two sides met at St James’ Park before Christmas, with a 3-3 draw the result at the end of a pulsating encounter.
Liverpool were shocked by the approach of Howe’s men that evening under the lights and their captain Virgil van Dijk has warned his team-mates that they must prepare for another ‘intense’ experience.
“We will face a very intense Newcastle,” admitted the defender, who scored the final goal in the Spurs rout. “When the time is right we will prepare well. I’m always proud to be leading out the boys, but these occasions are special… when the time is there, we will be ready.”
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Van Dijk’s comments about the intensity echoes what he said in the aftermath of the December draw at St James’. Then, the Dutchman berated his side for not being able to withstand the pressure of the Newcastle players and the home crowd at key points in the game.
“We know when we play there Newcastle have an extra… I don’t know what happens to them but the fans feed them, they win their challenges, the fans feed off that as well,” admitted Van Dijk.
‘We were not good enough, not good at all. Then they create momentum, we don’t, we lose the ball too easily at times, sloppy in possession and they make momentum. We had 50 minutes to put it right, which we did but unfortunately we couldn’t get it over the line.”
The two sides meet in the Premier League in a couple of weeks in a Wembley dress rehearsal. Newcastle travel to Anfield on Wednesday, February 26 to try and help derail Liverpool’s seemingly inevitable march to the Premier League title.
Slot knows they will be in for a tough test that evening, and again at Wembley three weeks later. However, he has urged his players to focus on their upcoming games and not have one eye on the final.
He said: “We already know how difficult the final is going to be because we faced Newcastle already and they were very impressive yesterday [against Arsenal] as well. But, [there are] many games to be played before this final and this is where our focus should be at.”
Carabao Cup 2025 special edition
Newcastle United have reached Wembley again after reaching the final of the Carabao Cup. The showpiece game takes place on Sunday, March 16 and to celebrate, Newcastle Chronicle will be producing a print special edition. Costing £3.50, it will have interviews, analysis, opinion and news and will be on sale from March 5 in retailers while you can also pre-order online now.
View news Source: https://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/virgil-van-dijks-one-word-30954783
