Manchester United meet Newcastle United at Wembley Stadium in the Final of 2022-23 Carabao Cup.
Victory would see Man Utd clinch a sixth League Cup title, whilst Newcastle are chasing their maiden League Cup title.
Team News
Marcus Rashford is a doubt for Man Utd after he was substituted in Thursday’s Europa League win over Barcelona, having suffered an ankle injury during the second half.
Christian Eriksen (ankle), Donny van de Beek (knee), Anthony Martial (leg) and Mason Greenwood (personal) remain absent.
Newcastle will be without goalkeeper, Nick Pope after he was red carded in their 2-0 Premier League defeat against Liverpool last weekend.
Second-choice goalkeeper, Martin Dubravka is cup-tied due to having represented Man Utd in this competition earlier this season, meaning that Loris Karius will start in goal.
Midfielder, Bruno Guimaraes is available after he completed a three-match ban via Newcastle’s three recent league matches, despite having been red carded in their semi-final second leg win against Southampton.
Joelinton and Joe Willock (both hamstring) are doubts but Matt Targett (heel) could return, after having not featured since Newcastle’s league win over Chelsea in November.
Emil Krafth (knee) remains ruled out.
Route to Final
Manchester United
| Round | Opposition | Home/Away | Result |
| 3 | Aston Villa | H | 4-2 |
| 4 | Burnley | H | 2-0 |
| Quarter Final | Charlton | H | 3-0 |
| Semi Final: 1st Leg | Nottingham Forest | A | 0-3 |
| Semi Final: 2nd Leg | Nottingham Forest | H | 2-0 |
Late goals from Bruno Fernandes and Scott McTominay saw Utd snatch a late 4-2 win over Aston Villa in the Third Round, after Anthony Martial and Marcus Rashford had cancelled out Ollie Watkins’ goal and Diogo Dalot’s own-goal.
Eriksen and Rashford then scored in a comfortable home win over Burnley before Rashford produced a late brace to defeat Charlton 3-0, after Antony had put Utd ahead in the 21st minute.
Rashford, Wout Weghorst and Fernandes all scored in a comfortable first leg victory over Forest, before Anthony Martial and Fred completed a 5-0 aggregate semi-final win with a 2-0 home win.
Newcastle United
| Round | Opposition | Home/Away | Result |
| 2 | Tranmere | A | 1-2 |
| 3 | Crystal Palace | H | 0-0 (3-2)* |
| 4 | Bournemouth | H | 1-0 |
| Quarter Final | Leicester | H | 2-0 |
| Semi Final: 1st Leg | Southampton | A | 0-1 |
| Semi Final: 2nd Leg | Southampton | H | 2-1 |
*Newcastle prevailed 3-2 on penalties against Crystal Palace in the Third Round.
Newcastle began their campaign with a comeback 2-1 win at Tranmere Rovers, as Chris Wood produced a 52nd minute winner after Jamaal Lascelles cancelled out Elliott Nevitt’s opener.
Wood, Kieran Trippier and Joelinton then all scored their spot kicks as the Magpies eliminated Palace 3-2 on penalties after a goalless draw in the Third Round, which was followed by Adam Smith’s 67th minute own-goal to scrape past Bournemouth in the Fourth Round.
Second half goals from Dan Burn and Joelinton saw Newcastle comfortably defeat Leicester 2-0 in the Quarter-Finals.
Joelinton’s 73rd minute goal handed Eddie Howe’s Magpies a first leg lead in their semi-final against Southampton, whilst Sean Longstaff’s first-half brace completed an eventual 3-1 aggregate win despite Bruno Guimaraes’ red card.
When is Kick-Off?
Man Utd meet Newcastle in a 4:30pm GMT kick-off at Wembley Stadium, London, on Sunday 26 February in the 2022-23 Carabao Cup Final.
Stat Attack
- Man Utd have won two of three previous League Cup meetings against Newcastle (W2, L1).
- Newcastle have lost each of their last two League Cup meetings against Man Utd when they played as the away team.
- Man Utd won their only previous meeting against Newcastle in all cup competitions to be played at Wembley, prevailing 2-0 in 1998-99 Final at the Old Wembley Stadium.
- Marcus Rashford has scored five goals across four of Man Utd’s five matches in this season’s Carabao Cup (W5).
- Newcastle have conceded just two goals throughout this season’s competition, having conceded one goal in wins over Tranmere and Southam in Round Two and second leg of semi-final respectively (W2).
Prediction
Despite having played twice in every matchweek across all competitions for the last seven weeks, Man Utd have done incredibly well to lose just once but will come into this game buoyant after a stunning win over Barcelona.
Fatigue though surely has to be seeping through given their hectic fixture workload since returning from the World Cup break, because Weghorst did look off-pace on Thursday evening whilst Rashford would be a huge loss if he is ruled out with injury.
Newcastle though have their own worries with Pope and Dubravka both unavailable in goal, meaning that their hopes lies in Loris Karius who hasn’t played in two years – which really should fuel their fans with fear given his previous history in a cup final.
Guimaraes’ return though should hopefully mean that their midfield returns to its best after scraping just two points during his ban, although Newcastle has tended to enjoy quick starts which could be key if they are clinical and can force Utd on the backfoot quickly.
Eddie Howe’s Magpies though haven’t kept a clean sheet in their last four games so I do expect goals here given the current form of both teams, although I do feel like this is Utd’s to lose unless Karius has the mother of all club debuts which would be quite something for Newcastle fans.
Prediction: Manchester United 2-1 Newcastle United
Result: Manchester United 2-0 Newcastle United
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