Liverpool and Newcastle meet on Sunday, March 16, in the English Football League Cup Final at Wembley Stadium in London. Liverpool are the defending champions of the Carabao Cup, beating Chelsea in the final by a score of 1-0, with team captain Virgil van Dijk scoring the only goal with two minutes left in extra time. The win gave Liverpool its 10th Carabao Cup victory. Newcastle has never won the Cup, finishing as the runner-up in 1976 and 2023.
Liverpool made their way to the final by beating Tottenham Hotspur in the semifinals, while Newcastle punched their ticket to the final with a semifinal round win over Arsenal.
We’ll take a look at the 2025 Carabao Cup matchup and provide you with our best free soccer betting picks to try and earn you some extra cash while you enjoy Sunday’s action.
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Liverpool head into Sunday’s game against Newcastle after being knocked out of the Champions League in the last-16 stage by PSG on Tuesday, losing 4-1 in a penalty shootout to the French Champions. The team will look to bounce back from that defeat for head coach Arne Slot by winning the Carabao Cup. Slot joined Liverpool on June 1, 2024, following the departure of Jürgen Klopp, who had been with the club since 2015.
Liverpool will have confidence heading into Sunday’s game. They have not lost to Newcastle in their past 17 matchups, most recently defeating them in late February in a Premier League contest by a score of 2-0.
The team is facing some injury issues heading into Sunday. Trent Alexander-Arnold is doubtful after leaving the game Tuesday. Meanwhile, it appears that Joe Gomez, Conor Bradley and Tyler Morton will miss the game. However, Ibrahima Konate, who left Tuesday’s game, is likely to compete against Newcastle.
Liverpool faced adversity last year in the Carabao Cup, but the team overcame to win. Coming back from the loss to PSG will go a long way toward showing that Slot is a worthy successor to Klopp.
Newcastle haven’t won a major trophy since 1969. They will be desperate to end that drought against Liverpool, a team they have struggled to beat. Since 1995, Newcastle and Liverpool have met 57 times, with Newcastle only winning nine of those games.
Eddie Howe has been at the helm for Newcastle since 2021, and while the 2-0 loss in 2023 to Manchester is not a fresh wound, it is something that has to stick with Howe and his club. A win on Sunday will give the team its first domestic trophy since 1955. Another issue facing Newcastle, as commentator Gary Neville pointed out, “Newcastle never play well at Wembley.”
Like their foes on Sunday, Newcastle will be without some key players. Anthony Gordon will be suspended after getting a red card against Brighton in the FA Cup. Lewis Hall is out with an ankle injury, while Sven Botman and Jamaal Lascelles are also out for the Carabao Cup. The defensive absences are likely to hurt Newcastle more than Liverpool.
Liverpool is the deeper team heading into the 2025 Carabao Cup. Even if Newcastle would have a full complement of top defensive players, they would struggle to contain the Liverpool offense. The pressure will be too much for Newcastle. The betting pick is for Liverpool to win the English Football League Cup Final.
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Mo Salah is leading the Premier League in goals with 27 this year. The player who is closest to Salah is Erling Haaland with 20 goals. In short, Salah is the dominant offensive player this season. It will be difficult to contain him on Sunday. As Neville said, “I can’t see Mo Salah and Virgil van Dijk not being winners on Sunday. You know when you look at two players and you just think, who’s going to take that off them?”
Look for Mo Salah to find the back of the net at least once during the Carabao Cup.
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About the Author
Trent's your man when it comes to all things sports. He covers a wide range of sports for Sports Betting Sites, and has been published in some pretty reputable outlets, such as USA Today Sports, Vice, Bloody Elbow, Fight! Magazine, UFC 360, and Narratively. Trent's got the inside track on all the happenings in the world of sports.
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