Newcastle United are in Carabao Cup final action against Liverpool today as they aim to end their 70-year wait for a domestic trophy.
Eddie Howe‘s side have enjoyed a remarkable campaign in the competition as they knocked out Arsenal over two legs at the semi-final stage. In earlier rounds, they beat Premier League opposition in Brentford and Chelsea.
That being said, Liverpool is their toughest test yet and after last month’s 2-0 loss against the Merseyside outfit in the league, Newcastle will need to be at their very best in order to come away with the prize. It is, for that reason, the absence of a handful of key players is notable.
Among those absent stars is Anthony Gordon, who has been an integral figure for Newcastle since his move from Everton in January 2023. The 24-year-old has scored nine goals and registered six assists across all competitions so far this season.
However, an avoidable red card against Brighton & Hove Albion in the FA Cup fifth round defeat earlier this month means he is not taking to the pitch at Wembley Stadium this weekend. The attacker was given his marching orders late on in the 2-1 loss against the Seagulls for a push towards defender Jan Paul van Hecke’s face.
He is now serving a three-game suspension – the first of which was the Premier League victory over West Ham on Monday night. After the cup final, he will also be side-lined for Newcastle’s home game against Brentford after the international break, before he will be available for selection again on April 7 against Leicester City.
When explaining Newcastle’s decision not to appeal Gordon’s red card, and suspension, Howe told reporters: “It’s always a discussion point, and we discussed it with a club with the respective people we needed to discuss it with lawyers etc, and we felt there wasn’t sufficient grounds to do that.
“There was no intention from Anthony. He didn’t mean to hurt anybody.
“But, you have to look at it and ask if there is any chance of being successful and if there is no chance, then what is the point of appealing and Anthony understands that.”
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