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Liverpool and Newcastle will do battle at Wembley on Sunday - Getty Images/Paul Ellis
Holders Liverpool will take on Newcastle United at Wembley in the League Cup final on Sunday.
The Merseyside club will be seeking a first trophy under manager Arne Slot while Eddie Howe’s side are trying to win their first domestic trophy since the 1955 FA Cup, and their first silverware of any kind since the 1969 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup.
Telegraph Sport’s expert writers predict who they think will win. Give your prediction in the poll at the bottom and join the debate in the comments section below.
Liverpool 2 Newcastle United 1
Liverpool’s Champions League exit and the sense that they may be running out of steam certainly gives Newcastle more of a chance. It feels like it will be a tougher one to call than a few weeks ago and the key will be in midfield. Can Newcastle dominate there against a tired Liverpool? Arne Slot’s team will probably have too much. Just. But it could go to extra time and even another penalty shoot-out.
Liverpool 1-2 Newcastle United
It has got to happen one day. A first domestic trophy for Newcastle in 70 years would be a significant moment in English football and even bigger for the club’s Saudi ownership. In spite of the injuries and suspensions, it feels like this could be the moment.
Liverpool 2 Newcastle United 1
I sense that Newcastle are in danger of wanting a first domestic trophy in 70 years almost too much. In 2023, the sheer euphoria of the occasion, with a Tyneside takeover of Trafalgar Square, sat in uneasy contrast to an anaemic performance on the pitch, as Eddie Howe’s players made a profoundly ordinary Manchester United team look like world-beaters. Liverpool, far superior to that Erik ten Hag side, have gained enough know-how from recent Wembley finals to unlock a third League Cup triumph in four years. I can see Alexander Isak scoring potentially, but with Virgil van Dijk marshalling the league’s best defence, Liverpool have the resilience to rebound immediately from their Champions League agony.
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Alexander Isak is Newcastle’s danger man - PA/Owen Humphreys
Liverpool 2 Newcastle 3
Newcastle, just as they did in the 1998 (Arsenal) and 1999 (Manchester United) FA Cup finals, are going up against the best side in the country, but they have the mentality and the talent to finally end the 70-year wait for another domestic trophy. The feeling, internally, is they have learnt from the defeat in the final two years ago and are better equipped to handle the occasion. In Isak they have a player who has already run Liverpool’s defence ragged once this season. This means far more to Newcastle than Liverpool and, by the law of averages, they have got to win a final eventually. This will be their sixth attempt since 1955.
Liverpool 1 Newcastle 1 (Liverpool win on penalties)
The last time Liverpool “comfortably” won a final was against Sunderland in 1992. This will be another tight game that could go all the way, decided by the penalty lottery.
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Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk will aim to lead his side back to winning ways after their Champions League defeat by PSG - Getty Images
Liverpool 3 Newcastle 3 (Newcastle win on penalties)
“I just have a feeling” is the rationale behind believing Newcastle will edge it at Wembley. Is part of that wishful thinking? Possibly, after seeing them go close before and covering matches at St James’ Park where the thirst for success is always in the air. Liverpool will get their open-top bus parade with the Premier League this season. That is the big one for them – the EFL Cup is the big one for the Toon Army.
Liverpool 2 Newcastle 1
Liverpool to win, my Telegraph Sport colleague Luke Edwards to hail Eddie Howe a genius and Joelinton to get sent off. At least one of these three things (the middle one) will definitely happen. The other two are pure guesses.
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